August 2  2008

The Dedication of Christ

By: Timothy E. Davis

 “The child’s mother and father marveled at what was said about him.  The Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother,” this child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel , and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.  And a sword will pierce your own soul, too.’ Luke 2:33-36 (TLB)

  Mary and Joseph have gone to the temple to dedicate Jesus to the lord.  It was required by the law of moses that every firstborn son be dedicated to Jehovah.  Even though they knew of the future of their son, and who he was going to grow up to be, they still followed the Jewish laws on circumcision and female purity after the birth of a child.

 Surely their hearts would have been brimming with pride; hearing such glorious things being said by the prophets and their little baby, just eight days old.  The tiny Redeemer, messiah, King of kings, and the son of almighty god.

 But Mary also received the news that she would lose her first born son in a terrible and painful way. (A sword shall pierce your own soul, too. Luke 2:35 (TLB)    This foreshadowed the agony of Christ on the cross, as mary stood there and watched the life slowly fade from her tortured and abused son's Murder.  even as she wept, she took comfort in knowing his kingdom was not ending, but would extend for eternity.
 

Jesus bought your freedom at a great price.  Your forgiveness and right standing with God was paid for with his lifeblood.  It soaked into the arrid ground of Mount Calvary almost 2008 years ago, and has been cleansing the hearts of believers ever since.  There is one who stands between us and Paradise.  He is the Son of Almighty God, Jesus Christ.  Won't you ask Him to forgive your sins today?  You have no promise of tommorow.
 

 Daily Manna July 9

 

Walking Deep In The Shadows

By: Timothy E. Davis

 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."   Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

 

  Our lives are not guaranteed to be trouble free. You did not sign a contract with God in which He promised to only send you wine and chocolates.  To borrow from an old seventies song, Jehovah never promised you a rose garden. We will all  have seasons when we must walk in the dark and deep shadows.

We will feel abandoned by our King, alone, and uncertain.

 

But He has given us a promise for all eternity.  A promise that never expires, a covenant never to be altered.  In  Deuteronomy 31:8,  we are told "The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."   No, the Master has not promised we will never have to walk in the long, dark, shadows, but He has given His inalterable Word we will not be walking through them alone

    

 

   Jesus: The Key to Eternal Life

By: Timothy E. Davis

                                            
"I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am
alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death
and Hades."  Revelation 1:18 (NIV)

I think everyone has shared the experience of standing
in the rain, at night, going through the keys,
desperately trying to find one that fits the door.
You may have a lot of keys that look like the door
key, but they do not fit.  There is only one key that
is the right key, and, once you find it, you do not
have to look anymore.

Christ is the key to the gates of Heaven.  We are
issued this key after we do two things.  First,
accepting Messiah's death on the cross as the free
gift that reconciles us with the Father, and washes
away all our sins, with the blood of Jesus.  Secondly,
we must accept the Master's broken and beaten body, as
the clothes that cover our sinfulness.  Once these two
things are done, our standing with the Father is
reconciled, our sins are remembered no more. 

God scatters them as far away as the east is from the
west, and no longer sees us as sinners who anger him,
but as children that love him. Then we know that we
hold the key to the riches and glories of Heaven, and
we can stop wasting time with all the keys that don't
fit.

                                   


     
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                            

   

 

 

 

 


 


 

                                                                                                                         

 

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                         

 

Making the Right Choices for Eternity

By: Timothy E. Davis


"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of GOD is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23 (NASB)

Webster’s Dictionary defines Eternity as: the quality or state of being eternal: infinite time lasting throughout eternity: a seemingly endless or immeasurable time an eternity of delays. People like to try to understand numbers and passage of time by putting it into terms they understand. For example, the average lifetime is close to eighty years. That is a solid number, and eighty years has both a beginning and an end. In the vastness of space, however, numbers and distances can grow so huge as to lose meaning as a reference point. We can see stars about 25 billion light years away. This takes us to the edge of the known universe. A light year is the distance covered by light in one year. Light travels at approximately 186,000 miles per SECOND. Even if we could travel at that sustained speed, it would take 25 billion years to reach the edge of what we can see.

Although time and space encompass huge distances and extremely long periods of time, they are still a measurable distance, with a beginning and possibly an end. But Eternity has neither a beginning nor an end. It has always been so, and shall always be so. Likewise, God has no beginning and no end on the time He reigns. There was no time before God, and there shall never be a time after God.

We shall each have an eternal destiny. Some will find themselves in Hell for all eternity, and they shall never leave this place set aside for the wicked. They will serve eternal, or unending, punishment for not accepting the free gift of Salvation. But one day, those who follow Jesus will rise up, meet him in the air, and follow him back to the places that he has prepared for us there. Then Heaven will become our home, and we will exist for the rest of Eternity bathed in the warm glow of the Father’s love for us. Either way you look at it, eternity is forever. The Word shows us how we can spend eternity with Christ. Now, that’s a forever to look forward to!

 

 

-Top

  

All pictures on this site are believed to be public domain and are being used for an educational, non-profit purpose.  If you notice any copyrighted material, please contact the webmaster and it will be immediately removed.  Page last updated 08/02/2008.