Jesus Wept.

Jesus Wept.

In the story of Lazarus (John 11:28-44), the women are all gathered together, moaning and weeping and mourning the loss of Lazarus.  And when Jesus arrives on the scene, and sees Mary  and the Jews with her weeping, "He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled" (vs 33)  Then Jesus asked to see where Lazarus was laid, and they replied, "Lord, come and see." (vs 34) and  "Jesus wept."(vs 35)  

There is something special to me about this verse.  "Jesus wept!"   Can you picture that?  Can you imagine Jesus weeping?  His dear friend is dead.  His other dear friends are suffering because of the loss of their brother. And Jesus wept!  

Jesus knew that in just a short time, He would call Lazarus forth from the grave, and Lazarus would come back to life.  Jesus knew how the story would end, the good things coming soon.  But when His friends were mourning, Jesus wept with them.  Why? Why would He weep when He knew that Lazarus would come back to life?  Jesus wept for His friends, the ones living, the ones grieving, Jesus wept for Mary and Martha.  Because Jesus loved them and had compassion on them.  

I believe that just as Jesus wept for Mary and Martha, Jesus weeps for us too.  Jesus knows the future, the good things coming...but when we go through hard times and we find ourselves weeping, Jesus weeps with us! Why? Because Jesus loves us.  Because Jesus has compassion on us.  In our time of loss, in our struggles, in our brokenness, Jesus comes on the scene, and He weeps with us.  

In verse 38 it says, "Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb."  After weeping with Mary and Martha, Jesus went to the place of their sadness.  The source of their pain and He did something incredible!! 

In vs 39, He asked for the stone to be removed and Mary speaks up and says, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Many times we do the same thing...Jesus comes to the place of our pain, our suffering, and He ask us to "remove the stone" or open the door so He can have access to that area in our life, and we are quick to come up with a reason not to remove that stone..."But Lord, there will be a stench!"   "But Lord, it hurts too much!"   But Lord, it's too bad" "But Lord, _________!"fill in the blank with whatever excuse we can find.

Jesus' response to us is very similar to what He said to Mary..."Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  In other words, If you just have faith, if you just believe, you will see the glory of God! 

   

Once the stone was removed, Jesus prays, and then cried in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!  and Lazarus came out of the tomb bound with grave clothes...and Jesus said "Loose him, and let him go!"  When we remove the stone, open the door and allow Christ access to those dark, hurting places of our lives, He calls out to us and brings us back to life.  The areas where we struggle with losses, hurts, sins, or failures, become new with just the sound of His voice.  Then as we struggle with the baggage left over, our "grave clothes" wrapped about us...Jesus says, "Loose him and let him go!"  and Jesus does what He does so well, He sets us free!! 

I don't know what your situation is, what area in your life you find yourself weeping, or hurting, or struggling...but Jesus knows, and Jesus is weeping with you, loving you, and asking you to remove the stone, open the door, and allow Him to bring new life to those dark corners of your heart and life.  Will you remove the stone today??  Will you give Him access?? 

Let's Pray!

Heavenly Father, we thank You that You love us! Even though we fail and fall, though we are broken and scarred, though we make mistakes and mess things up so quickly...You still love us!  You weep with us, You see our mess, our pain and our failure, and You are moved with compassion. We are so thankful!
Today we choose to open the door, to roll the stone away and give You full access to those areas of our lives that are so hurt, broken, sinful and just plain stinky!  No more excuses, no more holding back, today, Lord we give those areas to You, and ask You to bring about new life and set us free from the "grave clothes" that entangle us.  Thank You Jesus for your love and forgiveness.  We love you, Lord! 

In Jesus Name, AMEN

One of You Is a Gossip - By Francis Frangipane

When I read this, I knew I just had to share it! Such a great word!!  If you would like to share this message please make sure you give credit to Francis Frangipane and link back to the ministries website. Be Blessed!!

The following message is adapted from a chapter in Francis Frangipane's book, A House United. 

Available at www.arrowbookstore.com

One of You Is a Gossip

A perverse man spreads strife, and a slanderer separates intimate friends. --Proverbs 16:28

Jesus made a remarkable statement concerning Judas: "‘Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?’ Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him" (John 6:70-71).
To what was Jesus referring when He identified Judas Iscariot as "a devil"? Was He speaking figuratively or factually? Is Jesus saying that a human being could not only have an evil spirit living in his soul, but that a person could actually become a demon?
Some teach that Judas had become so perfectly possessed by Satan that he actually lost his humanity. Before we accept this interpretation, let us remember that after this fallen apostle delivered Jesus up, he felt such remorse for betraying Christ that he committed suicide. Could a demon feel such remorse for sin? I do not think so.
What I believe Jesus is identifying in Judas Iscariot as a "devil" is something that, today, exists unchecked among many Christians:slander. In the New Testament the Greek word diabolos, which is translated "devil" in this text, is translated impersonally elsewhere as a "false accuser," "slanderer" or "malicious gossip." In fact, 1 Timothy 3:11 and 2 Timothy 3:3 both translate diabolos (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, #1228) as "malicious gossip(s)."
In other words, Jesus is not saying "one of you is a devil" in an organic or theological sense, but that one of you is "a slanderer, a malicious gossip." So while the disciples were almost bragging about their loyalty to Christ, Jesus corrected them, in effect saying, "Yes, I chose you, but even among you there is one who is a malicious gossip, whose words will eventually betray Me to My enemies."

Gossip in the Last Days
This problem of gossip in the Church, Paul tells us, will continue right into the end of the age. Listen carefully to what Paul wrote to Timothy about the last days: "Men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips" (2 Tim. 3:2-3), and the list goes on. In the midst of this list of great sins of the apostasy, the apostle includes "malicious gossips." This is the exact same word translated "devil" in John 6:70.
Perhaps you know people who always have something negative to say about others, who always bring negative information about people into their conversations. I pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal to us how "malicious gossip" is kin to the nature of Satan himself!
The Scriptures say that we will be justified or condemned by our words. Yes, our words---even those spoken in secret with a spouse or friend about others---are used by God to measure our obedience to His will. James writes, "If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man" (James 3:2).
Words have power. Scripture reveals that "death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Prov. 18:21). Our words, expressed as a confession of faith, bring us into salvation; but words without faith can lead us and others with us into destruction and heartache.
James 3:8 warns, "The tongue . . . is a restless evil . . . full of deadly poison." "The tongue," he says, "is a fire, the very world of iniquity" (v. 6). And James reveals a most profound thought: "The tongue . . . sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell" (v. 6).
Satan gains access to our world, to destroy all that is good and holy in it, through our tongues. The very course of our life, the direction and quality of our earthly existence, is "set on fire by hell" through the words we speak. If we talk negatively about someone or maliciously gossip, the destructive fire of hell itself is released through our words. Lord, help us to understand the power of our words!
I believe God wants to break the power of gossip and negative speaking from the Church. We may have a perfect analysis of what is wrong and why it is evil, yet if all we do is talk about it, we have yet to disavow our allegiance to hell. God calls us to be a house of prayer for all nations---a spiritual community that is mature, fully capable of seeing what is wrong, but positioning itself to release redemption into the world.

If Paul Visited Your Community
Imagine if the apostle Paul came into a typical American city. Do you know what he might say about our divisions? Probably what he told the Corinthians: "I am afraid that perhaps when I come . . . there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances" (2 Cor. 12:20).
Does that remind you of any churches anywhere? Strife? Jealousy? Slander and gossip? How can we approach God with these things existing in us? I believe God desires to give the Church a whole new approach. But we cannot lay hold of the future unless we first let go of the past.
Perhaps you are thinking, "So and so should hear this." Yes, but we must start with ourselves. Pastors must stop talking negatively about people; they need to refrain from "leaking" problems with people into their sermons. Intercessors must stop negative gossip about the people for whom they should be praying. If we discuss what is wrong for ten minutes, let us pray for redemption for twenty.

Judge Not
How do you respond to life’s imperfections? Do you gossip? When you hear of someone’s failure, are you quick to spread the news? If Jesus was looking at the Christians with whom you fellowship, would He say to you what He spoke to His early apostles, that "one of you is a malicious gossip?"
Even if you are not a gossip or slanderer, you must be careful to avoid "fellowship" with gossips. Criticisms incubate. Paul warned that "a little leaven leavens the whole lump" (1 Cor. 5:6). If we walk with the wise, we will become wise, but if we open our hearts to the cynical and critical, then we become like them. That is why Jesus said we were to "take heed" to what we hear. For whatever we intently focus upon, we absorb in abundance (see Mark 4:24).
Thus, we must not even listen to gossip. When God shows us what is wrong in life, it is so we can pray for redemption, not spread the bad news all over town. Prayer has a positive focus. People with Christ’s love have a spiritual vision that causes them to see beyond the imperfections and limitations of the present world into the potential awaiting in the future---and they pray until what they see comes to pass.
Remember: None of us stands perfectly upright. Every time we judge someone, we position ourselves to be judged as well. Indeed, we each continually lean in the direction of our weakness. Only by the grace of God are we kept from falling. The moment we begin to self-righteously judge or gossip about another for their failings, we lean a little closer toward our own fall.
Our actions and words should be motivated by mercy. If we must discuss the situation or individual, let us harbor no malice or ill will. Let redemption be our guide, not revenge. Let us keep ourselves from becoming those who betray the working of Christ on earth. Let us keep ourselves from the realm of the malicious gossip.

Lord, purify my lips with fire from Your holy altar. Father, forgive me for my words that have not always been redemptive. Lord, deliver the Church from the realm of spreading gossip to the work of spreading grace. Help us to be a house of prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Overcome - By Jeremy Camp

Overcome - By Jeremy Camp

Unshakable Faith - Day 43:A Curse From The Ground

Unshakable Faith

Day 43:A Curse From The Ground

1. "The very earth itself curses man today in many regions because of the innocent blood that has been shed upon it." What regions come to mind when you read this statement?

Hmmm, well there are many different regions in the world today who are suffering famines, earthquakes, tsunamis etc.  But one of the ones that stand out most in my mind, is right here in America.  This nation was founded on God's Word, the laws and constitution was made to uphold a standard of living while giving people freedom, justice and the pursuit of happiness.  But the sinful choices made and even made lawful over the years have taken their toll.  We cannot remove prayer, the Word of God and all moral values from our homes and Schools and expect God's blessings to continue to fall.  We cannot allow innocent babies to be murdered by the thousands each year and not pay the consequences...America is dealing with huge issues today, and the only hope we have is to repent of our sins and bring God back into our everyday day lives, not just on Easter and Christmas, even every Sunday is not enough...We need to be in His Word, spending time in His presence each and every day. 

2. Are there generational curses affecting your life or the life of your family that need repentance and restoration?

There are things passed down from generation to generation that we must repent of, and remove from our lives.  I believe everyone has things in their lives that they naturally tend to do, because of a generational curse.  I have dealt with fear all my life...and so has just about all of my sister's and there are five of us.  Do you think that is a coincidence? I don't think it is...somewhere up the line sin caused this generational curse to enter all of our lives.  I have spent much time praying, repenting of being fearful, quoting scriptures and claiming God's promises, and when fear tries to come in, it is met with the full armor of God and doesn't stick around for long...My children will not deal with this generational curse, it stops with me!

3. Repentance can be the beginning of the release of God's grace and favor in your life.

Repentance is key! Only when we ask God for forgiveness and then turn from our sin, will we see God's favor and blessings in our lives.

Unshakable Faith - Day 10: The Lights

Unshakable Faith

Day 10: The Lights

1. Just as the sun is the source of your physical life, so Jesus is the source of all life.  Is He your source of life?

Yes, Jesus is everything, without Him I would be so lost and messed up.  Jesus has saved me from not just the sins I have committed, but He has walked with me helping me to make better choices and decisions, saving me from making huge mistakes.  Jesus is the reason I am who I am, and He is continually working on me to make me more like Him. 

2. The Church has been a great influence on events in past ages and this age.  Is there more the Church could be doing?

Yes! God created us in His own image, for one purpose, to be like Him, to be a reflection of Jesus.  

When others around us look at us, they should see Jesus...and when God looks at us He should see the reflection of His Son.  

If the only thing I am reflecting is Kayla, then I am not fulfilling my God given purpose, I hope that when others see me, they see something more.  I hope they see Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Hope, Life, Faith, - JESUS! I want others to see Jesus in me. And that is what God wants from the Church as a whole as well.  

When God looks at the Bride of Christ, we should all be a reflection of Jesus, without a spot or wrinkle (the only way we can be without a spot or wrinkle is through the blood of Jesus, When we fully reflect Jesus, then God will see Jesus' righteousness in us, instead of all our own mistakes and failures).  We as the Church need to strive and work to reflect Jesus in all we do, everyday!

3. Are you always seeking to walk in the greater light of Christ?

Yes, walking in the Light of Christ is the only true way to live.

"How Can I Keep From Singing" - Chris Tomlin

"How Can I Keep From Singing" by Chris Tomlin

As I listen to this song, I just can't help but sing along...such a powerful and anointed song.  We all need to remember no matter what the circumstances, in success, in failure, in good and bad...God is so good! It doesn't matter what we are going through...How can we keep from singing His praise?

Gloom Despair, and Agony on Me...

Gloom Despair and Agony on Me...

As we go through life there are those times when the things that surround try to get you down, and if you let them succeed, it won't be long before you're singing this old song...

"Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me"

I'm fairly certain none of us want to get to that point, but when we let our focus drift off of Christ and we settle for looking at the things around us, we very quickly sink into the pit so well described in the lyrics of this song.  I encourage you today to look to your Heavenly Father and the promises He has given you in His Word, and then those very things that have gotten you down will become insignificant compared to how great and good and mighty our God is.  Here is my own version of that chorus to show the difference Christ makes in a life given to His leading.

Peace, prosperity, and blessings on me
Bright, golden Son light and hope for eternity
If it weren't for Jesus Christ, I'd have no hope at all 
Peace, prosperity and blessings on me


Here are a few of God's promises to ponder...

"The Lord is faithful to all of His promises." - Psalm 145:13

"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this:  He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.  Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret..." - Psalm 37:5-7 


"And my God will meet all of your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:19 


"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11


"As for God, His ways are perfect: the Word of the Lord if flawless.  He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him." - Psalm 18:30


As you look through God's Word there are many great promises...please share with us some of your favorites.

The Woman at the Well

The Woman at The Well - A Modern Woman's Version

John 4 (NKJV)

A Samaritan Woman Meets Her Messiah

1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 But He needed to go through Samaria. 5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” 15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” 19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

Breaking Free - Chapter 41: Deprogramming and Reprogramming

Breaking Free - Chapter 41: Deprogramming and Reprogramming

1. What led you to be able to see a particular sin involved in a stronghold in your life? 

Well as I've said before, fear has been an issue for me, and God has been working with me, to set me free for a long time, but one of the key moments was when I heard this...
"Fear is believing in the lies of the devil; faith is believing the promises of God."
When I started looking at fear as believing Satan's lies, it was a huge turning point in becoming free from this stronghold.


2. What are some of the lies that you have begun to identify that surround a stronghold in your life?

Here are a few of the lies Satan has tried to use on me:

• I'm not good enough.
• I'm not strong enough
• Bad things happen to everyone, God can't/won't protect me.
• Everyone else is better at just about everything than me.
• Friends will always leave just when I begin to let them close.

3. What is the meaning of the statement, "Deception is the glue that holds a stronghold together"?


Strongholds are made completely out of lies and deception, so when truth is applied, the strongholds crumble. Truth acts like a wall paper remover melting away the lies and setting you free.


4. Have you experienced difficulty with the lie that you are responsible to help every person who has a need?

Yes, as newly married young adults, my husband and I started attending a church that felt like home away from home...and very quickly we got involved and were loving it.  But somewhere along the way, we bought into the lie that we had to help if we were asked, and so we said yes to just about everything.  I worked in the church office and helped with just about every ministry of the church as part of my job, but in addition to that, we were collectively involved with the following...

Children's Church
Choir
Worship team
Drama
Ladies Bible Study
Boys and Girls Clubs
Men's Basketball
Quilts for Soldiers
and other miscellaneous outreaches and projects around the church.

We were at the church just about every day of the week and then sometimes two or three times a day.  None of these things were bad on their own, and we truly loved helping, but Satan made us feel like we were evil if we said no, and so we kept taking things on to the point of being burned out.  When we moved out of that area and started attending another church it took months for us to be ready to volunteer for anything, and to this day (5 years later) we are very cautious, because we don't want to get to that point again.


5. Why is identifying the lies that surround a stronghold an absolute necessity to a life of freedom?

Identifying the very thing that is holding you captive, and the lies that are holding it together, allows you to overcome it with the truth from God's Word and be set free, but if you don't identify the lies you will continue to believe them, and you will not find the freedom God has for you.

Breaking Free - Chapter 39: A View From the New

Breaking Free - Chapter 39: A View From the New

1. Can you describe a stronghold you have struggled with in your life?
Fear 

Fear of bad things happening, fear of bugs and spiders, fear of failure, fear of losing the people I love...
Fear is a terrible stronghold, and I've dealt with it in many different forms.


2. How did the stronghold gain strength in your life?

During the time in my life when I was fearful that bad things would happen, simple things that many people wouldn't think twice about like watching a TV show about crime, would make it so that I couldn't get to sleep.  Seeing the drama played out was enough to fuel the fear and get it from a small flicker to a roaring fire.  I had to stop watching certain TV shows and then I spent that time reading God's Word and praying.


3. What part does insecurity play in strongholds?

It is our insecurities that make us susceptible to the lies and thoughts that become strongholds.


4. What kind of excuses have you made for not surrendering some area of your life to the authority of Christ?

I tell God I'm giving it to Him, but I tend to hold on as if I think He won't notice...I don't really give excuses, just reach over at the last minute and grab a hold of the very thing I just promised to give Him.  When I think about it, it seems so crazy for me to even think I could get away with it, but somehow, I regress and start to think like a 3 year old trying to hide something in plain site from a parent. I adamantly shake my head, saying, "no, I'm not holding on to it, I gave it to you."