Author: kezha1

Haggai was a minor prophet that ministered words of encouragement & revival to the Jewish exiles returning from Babylon to find their Temple destroyed. Here Haggai gives promise of greater blessings & reaffirms that the Lord is still with His people. He associates the rebuilding of the Temple with the coming era of the Messiah…God’s anointed One bringing glory, peace, & prosperity. This is confirmed in John 2:19 when Jesus calls Himself the personal embodiment of the Temple…with the ultimate fulfillment of this Scripture coming when the Lord God Almighty & the Lamb become the glorious manifestation of the Temple in the New Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:22)

The Cross…have we become too flippant & frivolous about it? So what exactly does the Cross mean? It’s the revealed truth of God’s judgment on sin and the supreme triumph over death & the grave. There was nothing else as certain in time or eternity than what was accomplished on the Cross…making a way for all mankind to be brought back into a right relationship with God the Father. The Cross wasn’t something that “happened” to Jesus – He came to earth with the expressed purpose of going to that Cross in our place. (Revelation 13:8) It tells us that God became flesh in order to take away our sins, so the Cross is at the very heart of our salvation. Finally, the reason why salvation is obtainable to us is because of the Cross. It may not have cost us anything, but it cost God dearly. (John 3:16)

Many years ago the Lord found me. I wasn’t looking for Him, neither was I naturally thinking anything about eternal life…but Jesus Christ took hold of me & supernaturally called me to Himself. In I Timothy 6:12, the Apostle Paul exhorts the young Pastor Timothy to, “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” In other words, take seriously the cost of your salvation to Christ and grasp hold in full assurance of what you possess by it. We may not be able yet to fully experience all the benefits of our redemption…but we have this hope and it needs to be rock solid. So take hold of Christ as He has taken hold of you… or as I Timothy 6:19 tells us, “Take hold of the life that is truly life.”

If you’ve been a Christian for a while, it’s not the flagrant and egregious sins you’re worried about committing on a daily basis…you’ve walked too long with the Lord for that. No, what should have you concerned is much more sly than out & out glaring sin…it’s complacency & compromise. Romans 6:12 is plain, “Don’t let sin reign in your mortal body.” Sin has been broken off you by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus’ blood, and all attempts of it to recover dominion over you must be resisted. Charles Spurgeon once said, ” When we think too lightly of sin, we think too lightly of the Savior.” And this happens every time you compromise or become too complacent…putting into jeopardy both God & your reputation, integrity, name, & moral character. So ask yourself this the next time you’re tempted to compromise in a situation, “Are you being faithful to God’s Word, or are you spinning & self- interpreting His Words in order to do what you desire?”

From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus always indicated the source of His teaching wasn’t original to Him but to His Father. A little farther in John, Jesus again reiterated this, “These words you hear aren’t My own; they belong to the Father Who sent Me.” (John 14:24) The Good News of the Gospel Message was perfectly taught by Jesus as He listened & obeyed His Heavenly Father. And it tells us here that if we choose to obey & follow God’s Will, He will make known to us holy mysteries…He’ll disclose the divine, and will allow us to gain godly perception through personal experience with Him. Psalm 25:14 tells us that, “The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.” Just like a trusted friend, Jesus wants to entrust us with the same relationship He has with His Father…a deeply personal & intimate relationship with the One true God.

At the start of this new year we are all a lot like Abraham…we don’t know where the Lord will lead us. He may call some into Full-Time Ministry, some into new positions at work, and some into serving opportunities they’d never imagine. When called, we have two options, refuse or step out in faith. But when we refuse the Holy Spirit’s promptings we run the risk of rebellious attitudes & actions. Yet when we humbly accept & yield we’ll see that,” Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not yet seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) For only faith can see into the future – by making real in the present what we already have through Christ Jesus. So walk boldly into this new year…trusting & obeying with full assurance of God’s plan for your life.

What a way to start the new year! Our Church held baptisms this glorious morning. What’s a more wonderful way to bring the new year in than to publicly proclaim that Jesus Christ is your personal Lord & Savior? Each testimony was heartfelt & filled with tears of gratitude to a Lord that loved them unconditionally. II Corinthians 5:17 proclaims that if we are in Christ we are a new creation, the old self is gone, the new self has come. And the entire Church erupted with thunderous applause and shouts of praise as each person came up out of that water…new & renewed in Him.

As we come to the very last day of 2022, I’d like for you to look back for a moment…not with regret but with gratitude. Now you may say there’s nothing to be grateful about, but in this Scripture we are told to be thankful for everything…and that means every thing you’ve gone through this past year. Colossians 3:16 chides us to have gratitude in our hearts… not bitterness, strife, or anger. I know you can find many things to be appreciative of as you think back over the year…and as you do, your heart will be filled with thankfulness & praise.

Oswald Chambers once penned, “Faith never knows where it’s being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading.” We all don’t know what the new year will bring us, but we can all be certain of one thing…God already knows & has prepared the way. Our responsibility is to trust and obey. In other words, to fear the Lord. Now the fear of the Lord isn’t distrustful terror of Him, but rather reverent awe & worshipful response of confidence, dependence, and assurance that He desires only the very best for us. Look around, what else can you place your trust in today? Nothing else can offer the rock solid reliance of God…not wealth & riches, power & authority, not even your own discernment & intellect can be trusted like Him. God wants to lead you in the way of righteousness today…will you allow Him to guide you?

There’s only a few more days left in 2022, and your mind may be filled with regrets of all the unfulfilled promises you made to yourself this time last year. Promises of losing weight, eating healthier, or exercising more…or it might have been to stop smoking, or drinking alcohol, or seeking treatment for substance abuse. You might have promised yourself that you were not going allow that certain family member to push your buttons, or that you’d forgive others more. Then again, your pledge might have been to God Himself…vows for getting back into the Word daily & praying more. But regrets can’t change the past, and all our remorse for not accomplishing what we set out to do only makes us feel sorry for ourselves. So instead, we need to have a conversation…with ourselves & God…a poignant heart-to-heart, filled with truth, accountability, repentance, & a change in attitude. This wonderful Scripture in Lamentations shows us God’s unending compassion towards us that will never be consumed by His wrath. Or as Psalm 30:5 says, “For His anger is but for a moment, and His favor is for a lifetime.” Regrets don’t change anything…only repentance can.