Saturday, May 30, 2009

Prophetic proclamation

Today’s Reading: Acts 2:25-28 (NIV)

25 David said about Him, “’I saw the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’”

Good morning!

The Apostle Peter chose to quote a Psalm of David to illustrate the truth of his personal testimony that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God. The proof is in the resurrection and Simon Peter knew it. Some of the men listening that day had been in the city of Jerusalem just two months earlier when Jesus rode through the city on a donkey. They heard Him teach on the steps of Solomon’s porch, and were well aware of His healing gifts. Jesus raised dead Lazarus from the grave. He healed the blind, cast out demons, and did not hesitate to speak truth to the Chief Priests and Pharisees. They watched and wondered while Jesus was flogged and hung on a cross to die at Golgotha. They had heard rumors of the miraculous empty tomb on the third day. How did King David know what would literally happen before their very eyes hundreds of years before?

Fulfilled prophetic proclamation has a way of grabbing our undivided attention when we least expect it. The Jews had long awaited their Messiah. Some had hoped and believed that Jesus Christ was the One. They were devastated when he died, thinking that somehow they had misinterpreted the signs. For generations, stories of the coming Messiah had been passed from father to son. Folks were looking up with one eye to the sky, waiting for the miraculous appearing. No one expected the Son of God would arrive one night in a cold and dirty barn, just outside the city walls of Bethlehem. Even as Jesus explained his death and resurrection to His disciples, they could not comprehend or understand what He was trying to convey. It was only after His bodily resurrection and reappearance occurred that people began to fully understand and realize that this prophecy was fulfilled.

There is unspeakable joy in the presence of the Lord! He is the living example of our Father’s love for the whole world. Because Jesus Christ lives, we no longer live in total separation from our God. When we ask Jesus to be our Lord, His blood covers all our sins, allowing us the privilege of being fully restored to a holy and perfect Father. What kind of love is this?

David’s prophetic proclamation as spoken by the Apostle Peter that day in Jerusalem, still holds true today. This is the best news we will ever receive. We are witnesses to Christ’s prophetic proclamation fulfilled every day. The Lord Jesus Christ is alive and well, and He is coming back for you and me. Keep one eye to the sky for a brand new day is about to dawn.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

___________________________

© Copyright 2009, Deb Spaulding

All rights reserved

Articles may not be printed in any “for profit” publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Gospel in a nutshell

Today’s Reading: Acts 2:22-24 (NIV)

22 Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. 24 But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him.

Good morning!

Ever tried to pick up a piece of ice melting on the floor? We have an automatic ice maker in our refrigerator. Our almost “two year old” grandson Andrew is fascinated with refrigerator gadgets. He often soaks himself and the kitchen floor playing with the water dispenser and ice maker buttons. It is hard keeping a busy boy back, and, unfortunately, Andrew inherited his grandmother’s deep sense of curiosity as well as her stubborn streak!

A cold ice cube on a warm hard surface does not take long to melt. I was chasing down Andrew and the ice cubes that he managed to drop all over my newly mopped floor. Those slippery little suckers were melting faster than I could pick them up! Tiny puddles of water were causing a serious walking hazard. I saved Andrew from falling face down as he ran and slid his way through my kitchen in wet, sock feet. You would have thought we were at the water park! As hard as I tried, I couldn’t hang on to the mischievous one or the ice cubes he kept dropping, and we both ended up sitting on the floor, laughing at each other, while soaking up ice puddles in our blue jeans.

Satan thought he had won the victory on the day Jesus died on the cross. He was sure he had finished the Lord God Almighty. No more miracles from this One – he was convinced God would die that day and that he had finally won the battle for the world. How surprised Satan must have been when Jesus showed up and rattled the very gates of hell to free the dead in Him. It must have felt a little like melting ice cubes in the hot pit of seclusion. Jesus Christ slipped straight through Satan’s fingers – he couldn’t keep the Lord locked up in his pit of iniquity. There was absolutely nothing he could do to stop the Father’s salvation plan for the world.

This is the Gospel in a nutshell! The blood of Christ melted like an ice cube, as it made contact with the sins of man. He literally poured Himself out to cover the people. It is Christ’s blood alone that frees us from the hell Satan has tried to create in our lives. We have an opportunity to receive His gift of blood if we are willing to trust Him enough to be our Lord and Savior. Jesus can melt even the toughest addiction, every secret sin you’ve held on to, even your anger and frustration and unforgiveness for others. He creates clean hearts out of filth. You can finally be free from Satan’s grasp if you’ll just call upon the Lord Jesus Christ today.

Thanks be to God for the blood covering of our Lord Jesus Christ! The next time you try to pick up a melting ice cube on the kitchen floor, remember how the love of Jesus melts away every sinful thing that you have ever said or done. And all you have to do to receive Jesus into your heart today is ask.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

___________________________

© Copyright 2009, Deb Spaulding

All rights reserved

Articles may not be printed in any “for profit” publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

The blood red moon

Today’s Reading: Acts 2:20-21 (NIV)

20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Good morning!

Whenever I read about the blood red moon and no sunlight to light our way, I am reminded of a horrific event that occurred just twenty-three years ago. In April of 1986, a nuclear reactor exploded at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukraine. It was considered the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history. Two people initially died at the explosion site, forty-six others died shortly thereafter, and thousands of others suffered and died due to the after effects of radiation. There was a fire a plume of radioactive fallout over a large portion of Soviet airspace; four hundred times the amount released than when a nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima during World War II.

The radioactive plume drifted over parts of the Soviet Union, Eastern and Western Europe and North America. Parts of the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia were highly contaminated, forcing an immediate relocation of quarter of a million people to other cities. The overall clean-up cost of this disaster was estimated somewhere around $200 Billion dollars. This does not take into consideration the loss of human life and the pain and suffering of all who saw the blood red moon that day.

When we experience natural disasters, the unspeakable consequences of war, and even an unintended nuclear accident, it is a natural thing to turn and look up for the Savior. When there are no other explanations for human suffering and pain, we look to the One who suffered and died to save us all. Jesus Christ, God made man, willingly took upon Himself our guilt, shame and sin and He died and rose again, to conquer sin and death forever; thereby sparing us from an eternity spent separated from the Father’s great love. I imagine hell to be a place of eternal torment, where there is only darkness and the moon is blood red. Jesus came so that we do not have to face life’s disasters alone. He is here, right now, waiting for us to look up and cry out to Him through faith. The Apostle Peter repeated the prophetic words of Joel: “And everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Disasters, mistakes, pain and suffering are all part of this life’s journey. Whose name will you cry out to save you? I pray that you will trust Jesus Christ completely to carry you through the days of your life and into the eternal light of the Father.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

___________________________

© Copyright 2009, Deb Spaulding

All rights reserved

Articles may not be printed in any “for profit” publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.

Monday, May 25, 2009

The wonders of heaven as seen on earth

Today’s Reading: Acts 2:18-20 (NIV)

18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signed on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.

Good morning!

Long before Peter quoted the words spoken by the Prophet Joel, God knew there would be a day when His Holy Spirit would be poured out on men and women everywhere. He knew that young and old alike would rise up in joint praise and proclamation of the salvation message in Jesus Christ. This is the day that the Lord has made – let us rejoice and be glad in it!

This morning, I had an online conversation with a psychologist, who spends his days helping prisoners with behavioral change modifications at a maximum security facility half way around the world. He tells me they are in desperate need of Bibles. Every morning when I wake up, I have God’s Word waiting for me on the desktop by my computer. It is there for me to study and read, as I spend time waiting upon the Lord in prayer. It grieves my heart that there are still many people in our world today who do not yet have copies of Scripture written in a language they can understand, readily accessible to them.

How can we find new ways to reach out and share God’s Word with all people everywhere? I fully rely upon the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, working within me, to propel His Word outside the walls. There are so many people out there starving for the love of Jesus. They need His Word because His Word is everlasting – God’s Word brings new life!

There is no greater wonder in heaven as seen on earth, than when a heart is forever changed by the love of Jesus Christ through God’s holy Word. Please join me today in taking His Word outside the walls and into our world. Pray for the ones who do not yet have His Word in hand, that the Holy Spirit will supernaturally make a way so that all people everywhere can know and experience the love of Jesus Christ today.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

___________________________

© Copyright 2009, Deb Spaulding

All rights reserved

Articles may not be printed in any “for profit” publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.