Tag: Dark Seasons

“He Chose Me!”

Please bear with me, but I have often connected the physical deformities of others to my own spiritual deformity from sin. Much of my young religious training taught me that when I sinned, my soul received a black stain. The more I sinned the darker my soul got. Well, from one perspective, my soul must have been pretty black! (and that was my favorite color for some time).

Even as a young Christian, I connected the deformities of other to the darkness and deformity of my soul. How could God Love me! I did so much evil….

At first, His Love began to leak into my life. Then the cracks of the shell of my deformed soul widened and His Love seeped in. The flood comes once in a while, in a quiet moment when I realize that He does truly Love me—in my ugliness and deformity (which I know is being transformed into the likeness of His Son, but even this blows my mind)….

Yes, He chose me. He adopted me to be His child. Truly, this thought blows my mind and the reality bursts my soul. The answer to the unspoken, “Why,” is a quietly whispered, “Simply because I Love you.”

What more can be said? What are your thoughts?

Main Text: — Ephesians 1:3-5 (NASB95)— 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,

Additional Scriptures to Renew Your Thoughts

   For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”— Romans 8:15 (ESV)

So that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.— Galatians 4:5–7 (NASB95)

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? — Romans 8:31–32 (NIV84)

Heavenly Father, what a sense of Holy awe I get every time I realize that You do Love me and have chosen me to be Your son!  No words can capture the overwhelming praise and gratitude that swells up in my soul. Baruch Ha Shem Y’shua.

Pastor Mike

“A Dark Season”

Date: 11-25-14

Text: — Isaiah 7:10-14 — 10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. [NIV84]

The Big Idea: When the dark seasons of the soul wash upon us, let us remember that Christmas will arrive.

My Thoughts: 

Yes, there are those who like the winter season, and the promise of snow and skiing, snowboarding, snowmen, (and women) and the like, but what if winter were more of a darkness. What if it were always winter and never Christmas? This was what Lucy discovered when she pushed through the coats of the Wardrobe and found herself in Mr. Tumnus’ presence: A land in the cold, wintry, unkind grip of the white witch, where Mr. Tumnus observed, “It is winter in Narnia and has been for ever so long.”

Lifestyle worshipers, whether or not you like the winter & the snow, sometimes the dark seasons of the soul wash upon us and we feel like it is always winter and will always be winter and never ever Christmas.

As we shiver in the apparent never ending cold, let us remember that no matter how long & dark the wintry season, Christmas will arrive. He came the first time in fulfillment of a promise. He came in the quiet darkness of Roman occupation. And He will come again. He promised. In the meantime, let the Hope of His Promised Coming warm your soul. Then you can bear the cold a bit longer.

Your thoughts?

Scriptures to Renew Your Thoughts

Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it….”

—Luke 17:22 (NIV84)

  Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.

— Luke 21:28 (NKJV)

 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

—1 John 3:2-3 (NIV84)

 Lord Jesus Christ, Be the Light and Warmth in my darkness. Drive away the clouds. Let Your Promised Rainbow appear. I long from the depths of my inner most being to see You. Be the Lamp unto my feet and the Light unto my Path. In Your Name, Amen.

Pastor Mike