“…Now will I praise…”—-Gen.29:35

“And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, ‘Now will I praise the LORD:’ therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.”—- We need to place this in context to understand. Leah was the wife of Jacob whose name would be changed to Israel for he would be the father of the twelve tribes. Jacob had been deceived by his father-in-law, and tricked into marrying the “ugly” sister Leah before he could marry the one he loved and betrothed to, Rachel. — God saw that Jacob was showing love to Rachel and not Leah. When God saw this He opened the womb of Leah, and He closed the womb of Rachel (temporarily). So, yeah, add that to the list of things God can do. She has three boys, one right after another, and each name had significant meaning. All dealt with her pain of feeling unloved by her husband. In her heart she thought the ability to bare children would draw Jacob to love her, as Rebekah continued to be shut out. —- In the end, she realized that it was God who loved her, as she had the fourth son and named him “praise” (Judah). We can look for the love and praise of men, but God is the source of love. Look to Him first, He is always the right place to find love.— Footnote: of the eventual twelve sons that Jacob’s wives would have, Leah only had four, but two were the most prominent (Levi and Judah). The Messiah came from the lineage of the ugly sister. —- God knows your heart. Take your gripes to Him today.

“Now after the Sabbath…”—-Mt.28:1

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.—-Mt.28:1 Reading this for the upteenth time, I remembered it was one of those things that I have read way too fast. The ladies go to the tomb, obviously expecting to see a dead body. Instead they find the evidence of heaven intersecting with earth, as an angel caused an earthquake as he rolled back the stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb. And then he just sat on it. It describes the angel as having an appearance like lightning with clothing white as snow. Those seasoned-veteran guards, no doubt , were getting a little overtime pay by making sure a dead-man escape the tomb. What a cush job! However, they were stunned, frozen at the appearance of the angel. —- Do you know who was not scared? These two women. The angel quickly explains the situation putting them at ease. Probably just hearing the name Jesus did it for them. He was the one they knew who calmed the seas, shut down the winds, and satisfied appetites. The angel doesn’t chastise them for coming expectantly to see a dead man. No. The angel reminds them, “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come see the place where he lay.”(v.6) Earthquake, angel, frozen soldiers are part of the story, but two obedient women steal the show as they go and tell of the reason Savior. —- This story did not die with them, and it will not die with us. Go and tell. Jesus came back just as he said he would. *For this reason, 2000 years later, believers still celebrate the first day of the week! The resurrection of Jesus is the epic story. —- There was an earthquake. They saw an angel. Jesus was resurrected. Do not let the world water down the epic story of hope.— How can this story put a skip back in your step today? Never forget.

Getting Through One Hour

Failing marriages, people giving up on life, yielding to unhealthy habits, flailing in hopelessness—-these are just some of the circumstances that folks in the church are troubled with. How can this be? People go to church for years, and then all of a sudden they do something that is totally against what they had been taught, and totally against what they would say they stand for. Could it be that for a lot of folks it is “just going to church?” People are not going to church for life transformation. Instead they are going because they always did or don’t want to feel guilty or some other reason. —- Once the Word of God is presented to you, the onus is on you to apply the Word to your life. If the change that you commit to God in that moment does not leave the parking lot, then you can go to church fifteen years unchanged! That is a travesty, and I believe we see the evidence all around us. You see, we can get through one hour, and leave unchanged if we’re not involved. This is a problem. Many folks take up space in churches, and do so without getting involved. Committed would be a better word. The truth is that people do not get committed, because they like to be unaccountable. It is this unaccountability that allows our friends to fall into the crapper. —- This leaves a heap of scraps that we end up measuring by statistics. Please do not just go to church. Get committed. We do not want to see you among the fallen, lifeless, unhealthy, or hopeless. —- Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. When you are truly worshiping, going to church isn’t like going to the dentist…you know, something you’re just trying to get through. True worshipers cannot wait for church to start. In fact, they start worshiping ahead of time.