Luke 24:11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.
Oh Friends, Sister Joyce, Joyce Meyer is in Toronto this weekend! Wow! And the ole fella went to see her last evening (Thursday). The Air Canada Centre, home of the Toronto Maple Leaf hockey team was rocking with about ten thousand souls, praising, singing and jumping for Christ. And hopefully, all of us who left there last night, plus those who go to the other three meetings, will leave so enthused, buoyed and fired up by the outpouring of faith and LOVE, that we’ll stir up the LOVE Revolution; light a blazing fire under the heathen, the godless and the unbelievers in our sinful, wicked world. Now wouldn’t that be wonderful! By the way, did you do your good deed yesterday as we asked? And all God’s people shouted, a resounding ‘YES!’ (smile) Now don’t forget today’s good deed. Remember we need to do it like we take our vitamins; at least one a day. And mih people, as we said, it doesn’t have to be anything big or earth shaking; even a smile, a kind word or a helping hand will do. You know in God’s thinking, it’s the small, simple, heartfelt things that impress and move Him the most. And Friends, if that ten thousand strong crowd went out and did one good deed everyday, you wouldn’t believe the multiplier effect it would have. And that’s all we need, each person helping another everyday. But being realistic, we know that not everyone will do it. I’m sure that just getting out of the arena, or going to get our transportation home, several of us lost the Christian feeling and jostled each other unnecessarily, or berated somebody for jumping a line or did some such unchristian thing. And though in and of themselves those actions are not noteworthy, we have to realize that it’s those small things, clustered together and shown to unbelievers that eventually build up a bad reputation for believers. And Friends, once a bad reputation is built in any area of life, hn! It’s almost impossible to break it down and build a good one, for human nature is such that it holds on to the bad, the suspicious and cynical much longer than the good. So let’s try to weed out those little negative things that don’t seem to matter much, but by which our faith and us, are in fact judged. And talking about cynicism aptly brings us to the continuation of our Bit. ‘And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.’ Now that was the unfortunate response of Christ’s followers to the women folk news on that first Easter morning, that Christ had risen, was alive, had conquered death. As we saw yesterday, it was difficult for them to believe, although it should not have been, for Jesus had warned them of it, more than once, and they saw, experienced and praised His awesome powers. But even now, with the benefit of hindsight and our enlightened thinking, that rising from the dead claim is difficult for many to accept. They will accept the crucifixion, because it’s a human reality. The spiritual resurrection though is a different story. But Friends, as we ended yesterday pointing out, without Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the whole idea of Christianity is worthless, since it’s those two aspects that give us the hope of brighter tomorrows, of salvation and everlasting life. Without them, there’s nothing but physical death period, end of story. But Jesus’ main purpose of coming to earth was to provide those two things. ‘And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.’ (John 6:40) That’s where strong belief and true faith comes in my people! And that’s also why Jesus admonished his disciples, in particular the two He joined walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, discussing the miraculous event in saddened, unsure terms. ‘Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.’ (Luke 24:25-27) Yes Friends, they ought to have understood it all because the prophets, especially Isaiah, recorded it in the Scriptures. But per the scholars, the disciples and other Jewish brethren were too caught up and focussed on the Messiah’s glory and not enough in His suffering, foretold very explicitly in Isaiah 53. So are many of us today caught up in the glory aspect. The excessive preoccupation of our society with the flash and dash of its members is a symptom of our idol worship, our lust for outward, worldly accomplishments. But when it comes to suffering, we can’t handle it, physically, mentally or emotionally. We try to run and hide from or deny it, always looking for some feel-good, unrealistic, short-term solution. But Friends, please note this; anyone who comes to glory have either already been beset by much suffering, or will be at some future date, because they’re both part and parcel of this earthly life. You can’t have one without the other, and our concentration on the glory side has made us weak and cynical, for it’s the suffering part that really builds strength, belief, faith trust and courage. Oh Friends, please let us not be too taken up in the glorious side of life, when there is so much ‘sufferation’ in our world that needs to be alleviated. That’s where we should focus our attention because it’s where our Lord and Saviour Jesus focussed His. And if we want to be a true reflection of Him, then we’ve got to do the things He did. Much LOVE!…to walk like Jesus…we have to TRULY BELIEVE IN Jesus…all that He stood for and accomplished…
Oh Friends, Sister Joyce, Joyce Meyer is in Toronto this weekend! Wow! And the ole fella went to see her last evening (Thursday). The Air Canada Centre, home of the Toronto Maple Leaf hockey team was rocking with about ten thousand souls, praising, singing and jumping for Christ. And hopefully, all of us who left there last night, plus those who go to the other three meetings, will leave so enthused, buoyed and fired up by the outpouring of faith and LOVE, that we’ll stir up the LOVE Revolution; light a blazing fire under the heathen, the godless and the unbelievers in our sinful, wicked world. Now wouldn’t that be wonderful! By the way, did you do your good deed yesterday as we asked? And all God’s people shouted, a resounding ‘YES!’ (smile) Now don’t forget today’s good deed. Remember we need to do it like we take our vitamins; at least one a day. And mih people, as we said, it doesn’t have to be anything big or earth shaking; even a smile, a kind word or a helping hand will do. You know in God’s thinking, it’s the small, simple, heartfelt things that impress and move Him the most. And Friends, if that ten thousand strong crowd went out and did one good deed everyday, you wouldn’t believe the multiplier effect it would have. And that’s all we need, each person helping another everyday. But being realistic, we know that not everyone will do it. I’m sure that just getting out of the arena, or going to get our transportation home, several of us lost the Christian feeling and jostled each other unnecessarily, or berated somebody for jumping a line or did some such unchristian thing. And though in and of themselves those actions are not noteworthy, we have to realize that it’s those small things, clustered together and shown to unbelievers that eventually build up a bad reputation for believers. And Friends, once a bad reputation is built in any area of life, hn! It’s almost impossible to break it down and build a good one, for human nature is such that it holds on to the bad, the suspicious and cynical much longer than the good. So let’s try to weed out those little negative things that don’t seem to matter much, but by which our faith and us, are in fact judged. And talking about cynicism aptly brings us to the continuation of our Bit. ‘And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.’ Now that was the unfortunate response of Christ’s followers to the women folk news on that first Easter morning, that Christ had risen, was alive, had conquered death. As we saw yesterday, it was difficult for them to believe, although it should not have been, for Jesus had warned them of it, more than once, and they saw, experienced and praised His awesome powers. But even now, with the benefit of hindsight and our enlightened thinking, that rising from the dead claim is difficult for many to accept. They will accept the crucifixion, because it’s a human reality. The spiritual resurrection though is a different story. But Friends, as we ended yesterday pointing out, without Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the whole idea of Christianity is worthless, since it’s those two aspects that give us the hope of brighter tomorrows, of salvation and everlasting life. Without them, there’s nothing but physical death period, end of story. But Jesus’ main purpose of coming to earth was to provide those two things. ‘And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.’ (John 6:40) That’s where strong belief and true faith comes in my people! And that’s also why Jesus admonished his disciples, in particular the two He joined walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, discussing the miraculous event in saddened, unsure terms. ‘Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.’ (Luke 24:25-27) Yes Friends, they ought to have understood it all because the prophets, especially Isaiah, recorded it in the Scriptures. But per the scholars, the disciples and other Jewish brethren were too caught up and focussed on the Messiah’s glory and not enough in His suffering, foretold very explicitly in Isaiah 53. So are many of us today caught up in the glory aspect. The excessive preoccupation of our society with the flash and dash of its members is a symptom of our idol worship, our lust for outward, worldly accomplishments. But when it comes to suffering, we can’t handle it, physically, mentally or emotionally. We try to run and hide from or deny it, always looking for some feel-good, unrealistic, short-term solution. But Friends, please note this; anyone who comes to glory have either already been beset by much suffering, or will be at some future date, because they’re both part and parcel of this earthly life. You can’t have one without the other, and our concentration on the glory side has made us weak and cynical, for it’s the suffering part that really builds strength, belief, faith trust and courage. Oh Friends, please let us not be too taken up in the glorious side of life, when there is so much ‘sufferation’ in our world that needs to be alleviated. That’s where we should focus our attention because it’s where our Lord and Saviour Jesus focussed His. And if we want to be a true reflection of Him, then we’ve got to do the things He did. Much LOVE!…to walk like Jesus…we have to TRULY BELIEVE IN Jesus…all that He stood for and accomplished…
SCRIP-BITS 