|
 |
 |
|
 |
Tag Archives: Guest Writer
A Letter From Mama
|
Dear Nicodemus
GUEST WRITER: JEANNE WEBSTER
Dear Nicodemus
©2010 Jeanne E. Webster
Nicodemus, teacher
Order of the Pharisees
Sanhedrin member
Rabbi (master of Israel)
Dear Nicodemus:
This letter is sent to confirm our conversation last night regarding eternal life. You questioned my statement that a person cannot enter heaven without being born again. You wanted evidence that a person can be born again after he’s grown. As a Pharisee, a rabbi and teacher, you don’t comprehend this?
I explained to you that one must be born of the Spirit, not a rebirth from the womb. Being born of the flesh is a physical birth; being born of the Spirit is a spiritual birth. There is a touch from God framing the spiritual birth which is granted to anyone who believes in the Son of man. He descended from heaven and will return to heaven, evidence for the passage of regeneration for everyone who believes in Him.
You have heard me preach of earthly things yet you don’t believe them. How will you have faith in what I tell you of heavenly things? Moses lifted up the brass serpent that represented the sins of Israel; everyone who looked on it was healed. So will the Son of man be lifted up for everyone to see and believe in, and they shall have eternal life. God loved everyone so much that He put upon the Son of Man the sins of the world. He was lifted up on Calvary for all to see and believe. Those who have faith in Him will not perish but have everlasting life in heaven.
You see, Nicodemus, God didn’t send his Son into the world to condemn everyone but to save them. They condemn themselves if they do not believe in the name of the only Son of God. In all reality, this is the truth: light has come into the world to save the souls of everyone. But people love the darkness, as it covers the evil deeds they don’t want discovered. Those that live good lives are drawn to the light because their deeds will be shown to be of God.
The wind blows where it wishes, Nicodemus. Even though you can’t tell where the sound comes from, listen to it, as it is from the Spirit. Believe in it and be born again, this time of the Spirit, and you will have eternal life.
Love,
Jesus
(Paraphrased from John 3:1-21)
Close To God
GUEST WRITER: VICTOR JASTI
As a Christian,
I understand that when God cleans my heart,
I get closer and closer to Him.
But when sins, selfish attitudes and worldly cares,
Keeps me from getting closer to the Lord,
I lay aside the World’s weight,
For when I lay them aside,
I experience the inspiring joy,
Of a Christian
Who is close to the Lord.
Don’t Look Down
GUEST WRITER: EMILY SWANSON
|
|
|
|
|
God Has A Secret
GUEST WRITER: EMILY SWANSON
|
|
||
|
Romans 5:10 It was said of Abraham that he was a friend of God. What a marvelous statement about any person Think about what all friendship involves. My best friend is my husband of 55 years. He knows more about me than any other living soul. Yet he still loves me, warts and all. He knows where I keep the coffee cups and the spoons. He knows where to put the dirty laundry. He knows that I snore. That is because we abide together. He knows my joys and my sorrows. He knows simple things; like I like to eat sandwiches of anything. These are probably things about me that others do not know…or care. We can spend hours together never uttering a word and then suddenly both say the same thing simultaneously. There are other friends in my life who know secrets from my heart. We have laughed and cried together over events for many years. They, too, know my joys and sorrows. I may call on them at anytime for a cup of coffee, a visit, a prayer. We have even prayed over the telephone together as I cry and they pray. There are those who have given me little gifts (for no reason other than love) at no eventful time. They leave a small package on the seat of my car, or on my doorknob at home. What a friend! Beloved, we all have such a friend. (Not one with skin on as the little boy is noted for saying). But we have a friend who loves to abide with us. What a privilege to abide with the Living God! He would like to walk with us in our garden as He did with Adam. He would love to call us friend as He did Abraham. Perhaps He would like to know us as a “child after His Own Heart” as He did King David. He already knows your our intimate secrets; but He would like to reveal some of His secrets to us. Our Father wants to hear from us about the secret things of our hearts…our joys, our sorrows, our desires. He wants to know the simple things like our concerns over our children’s grades in schools, what can I do to stretch my time as a wife and mother or grandmother? He listens to our frustrations and our victories (say, Father, did You know my husband got a raise today; my child made an A in math. WOW) He can know these things from us because we choose to abide with Him. Abiding indicates quality time spent together. He already leaves little gifts for us all over the place. What was that special hug from my child or that smile from my baby if it wasn’t a Gift from God? Who do we think arranges for those A’s in life and those raises that come unexpectedly? What was that beautiful day of sunshine shedding its light over the ountryside? What was that refreshing rain cooling off the parched land? What is that “Peace that passes all understanding” in a time of trial? Where’d that come from anyway? We can spend much time together…never saying a word, just listening; and all of a sudden the Heavenly Father, the Creator of the Universe, speaks to my heart revealing His Heart and His plans for me. He reassures me of His love. He gives me glimpses of His secrets. Dear Heart, Friends love to be together and to share. The mark of a true friend is their availability to us when we need, and their undying friendship regardless of our faults. We have such a Friend…and What a Friend He is. Enjoy Him “Dearest Father, What a Friend we have in You all ‘because of what Christ has done in dying for our sins…making us friends of God’. (Psalm 5:11 Living Bible) Help us to take every advantage of that friendship by abiding in You and Your Word. ‘I come to the Garden alone; while the dew is still on the roses.’ Amen” |
Psalm 32 Forgiveness
GUEST AUTHOR: JEANNE WEBSTER
|
|
|
|
|
The Great Flood
GUEST WRITER: VICTOR JASTI
And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His Heart. Genesis 6:6
Noah talked and walked with God,
Day in and day out, through out the year.
He and his family, the only ones around,
Amongst so many sinners and idolaters.
Moral depravity and growing sin,
Made man, the most despicable animal,
That God repented, about His creation,
Sadly deciding, to destroy mankind totally.
But Noah and his family, the only ones around,
Who found grace with God the Almighty,
Was saved from the inevitable judgment,
Along with the birds, animals, in two’s and seven’s.
Build an Ark, commanded God,
Of gopher wood, four decks high, rooms aplenty,
Noah started immediately and obediently,
Without a thought, of where to sail.
Up went the Ark, divine plan in action,
Inspired by God, strengthened by faith,
Prayer and song, drowning the wicked laughter,
Ridiculing Noah, his Ark, and his God.
Noah did not worry about how to go about,
From foundation to finish, God enlightened him,
The wood, the plan, measurement to the purpose,
God planed the little details for the great task ahead.
Animals and birds, God collected to the last,
Leaving nothing for Noah to get worried about.
Filling four decks high with forty five thousand animals,
A great and an impossible task, a lone man cannot do.
Often we do just the opposite of Noah,
Worry in details over things which we have no control,
Neglecting specific areas, like responsibilities and relationships,
That is under over control and loosing sight of the goal.
The Tapestry
GUEST WRITER: Victor Jasti
God said let their be light,
Dividing light from darkness, called He night.
World, He created, in an orderly fashion,
Like a master craftsman, weaving a tapestry.
Every seed, plant followed by flowers and fruit,
Animals and birds, fish and all that breathes,
Created He, just the way He wanted,
Like a master craftsman, weaving a tapestry.
Pinnacle of creation, man and woman,
Created He in His own image, valuable in His sight,
For no other part of creation can claim that privilege,
Like a master craftsman, weaving a tapestry.
Life is like a richly woven tapestry,
God the master weaver, deep in work,
Thread, different colors and hues, varied textures,
Interwoven to provide a dramatic design.
God the master weaver, created tapestry,
For us to fit in, in intricate ways,
For without us, the tapestry is not complete,
He in His glory sees which we cannot.
For the tapestry to be complete fully,
We should allow Him to do His work,
Instead of complaining of the thread,
About its color, texture and the design.
For we spoil the good work of our Lord,
By complaining of our friends and family,
In our work place and in the church,
For it is He, who weaves, the tapestry.
Allowing Him to complete the tapestry,
We give us, ourselves, a role to play,
For us to fit in, in His grand plan,
Of making the world a better place to live in.
The Family Resemblance
GUEST WRITER:Emily Swanson
In my quiet time of worship I said to God, “I want to enter your presence with praise. Sometimes I long to know what you look like. I know you are holy and attended by angels; but I long to know you!”
My Father replied, “I sent my Son that you might know me. ‘He who has seen the Son has seen the Father’, and you can see my character in My Son. Remember His commitment in the temple as a little boy; His commitment as a man when He ‘set His face toward Jerusalem and the cross’. Also remember His communion with others; His disciples, Mary, Martha, Lazarus, the wedding feast, Nicodemus, the many people who stopped Him along the way to talk. He was never too busy; neither am I.”
Healing is another attribute of God as expressed by Jesus on many occasions. The gentleness of those strong hands that made a “mud-pack’ with clay and spittle and applied it to the eyes of a blind man. See his compassion for the woman in adultery as she was dragged before Him. I see His forgiveness even to the cross as He looked upon His accusers and His own disciples who had forsaken Him. He knows rejection…the families and friends of Nazareth rejected Him; there was a moment on the cross when He felt rejection of the Father as He took on the sin of the world. Still He is rejected of men even after His sacrifice. He is the ultimate of love (AGAPE). He laid down His life willingly. He is patient and longsuffering. I see Him teaching His disciples and yet see their misunderstanding of what He was really about. (They squabbled over first place in the kingdom like children squabbling over “who’s first at bat”.)
He was gentle and kind as He took the little children to Him and as He fed the hungry multitudes. He was powerful as He called Lazarus forth from the grave and when He calmed the story sea. He cast demons out which recognized Him as the Son of God. He was concerned as He gave His mother over to John’s care at His death on the cross. He was sorrowful and compassionate…He wept. He showed righteous anger as He ran off the moneychangers from the temple. He showed grace even on the soldier whose ear was cut off by Peter. He was totally unprejudiced. He ate with publicans and sinners; communed with Sadducees and Pharisees, Roman Soldiers, Jews and Greeks. He was merciful…see the widow whom Jesus gave back her son. He was faithful to keep His promises,
The Father said, you have seen My Face in the person of Jesus. My Character is there in My Son. See ‘Family Resemblance”.
Pamforddavis 