December is the month that many celebrate Jesus’ birth. I’m more of the persuasion Jesus was probably born in September or October during the “Feast of Trumpets”. If that be the case, then Jesus was probably conceived during this time of year. That perhaps is more miraculous than His birth. The Holy Spirit gives us the explanation in Luke 1:30-35 (ESV)
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be bornwill be called holy—the Son of God.
Whether you celebrate a Traditional Christmas (December 25) or Hanukkah, known in Jesus’ time as the “Feast of Dedication” John 10:22 (ESV),
“At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter”
The “Feast of Dedication” was instituted by Jude Maccabeus, to commemorate the purification of the temple from the profanations to which it had been subjected by Antiochus Epiphanes 165 B.C., and kept for eight days, from the twenty-fifth Chisleu (December), the day on which Judas began the first joyous celebration of it (1 Maccabees 4:52,56,59; and Josephus, Antiquities, 7.7.7). This all took place in the 400 year inter-testament. Jesus was possibly in Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication. Certainly, He was there to declare that he was indeed the “light’ of the world come to save men. He also later declared during this trip oneness with the Father (John 10:30 (ESV).
The first Thanksgiving took place when the settlers at Plymouth had a three-day feast with the Wampanoag Tribe in 1621. This event marking the first real successful harvest was a break in the hostilities between the two groups that lasted for decades and led to the ultimate decimation of the Wampanoag tribe and the loss of lives of hundreds of settlers.
In several recent holidays, I have been grateful for broad efforts to honor service members’ valor and patriotic dedication. At the same time, I have been struck by how many Christians’ thinking about such topics is a hodgepodge of cultural traditions (accepted or rejected to varying extents) but largely disconnected from biblical truth—and a historical understanding. I invite you to join me in reflecting on a few items regarding our nation, the Kingdom of God, and our role as dual citizens.
There is something that the Old and New Testament believers possessed that I’m convinced is missing in many believers of today. It’s living and moving in the Holy Spirit. In fact, living and moving in the Holy Spirit is referred to over 270 times in the Bible. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit does not seem very important today, even in charismatic circles. This understanding was foundational to the early church: Acts 17:28 (ESV)
The following is an article that Cheryl wrote for a Christian Women’s virtue magazine back in 2004. She spoke on this topic again last Friday night at our Friday Shabbat service. Enjoy!
I was meditating upon the majesty of God today and suddenly, I received a revelation of why it is so necessary for the day we live in. Lets first lay a background for where we are going. The first scripture I want to look at Is Isaiah 6:1-8
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people:
I included the entire Psalm because it is such an incredible portion. It shows God’s intent and care for those He has created in His image. One of Satan’s schemes is trying to convince us that God is not near but actually non-present when I’m in despair or when I feel alone is abandoned. Nothing could be further than the truth. He is always present. Verses 7-8 prove this.
The term “seeking the Lord” is a common catchphrase in the church but have we ever considered what it really means? The modern Christian culture puts the emphasis the other way around, that God seeks us out. Although there is the truth to that, there is a danger that the gospel becomes “me” centered and not “Christ” centered. In this blog, we will examine a few verses to try to understand why it is so important to God that we seek Him. The first verse I want to look is a well-known verse from Isaiah 55:6-7 (ESV)
There is a major sensing that this year’s “Rosh Hashanah” will bring major changes from both a prophetic and global perspective. Time will certainly tell if this is true but it would seem that our world is demanding change. The dates of this year’s Jewish New Year begins this Sunday at sundown and will end on Tuesday, September 27. We can read about “Rosh Hashanah” in Leviticus 23:23-25 (ESV)
I imagine they would need to remember that promise over and over because being used by God to birth something brand new is often incredibly lonely and difficult. They along with the Apostle Paul, were foundational to the “mystery” that was about to be revealed, the church. Tradition tells us that every one of the disciples would die a martyr’s death. All except the Apostle John who was most likely the youngest of the disciples who walked with Jesus. Jesus said this about him in John 21:22 (ESV)
Does putting Jesus first allow me to live life as I please and treat people any way I like? Is it correct to call oneself and “follower” of Jesus or a “Christian” yet never crack open the scripture or even spend one minute in prayer and believe you’re putting Jesus first?
In the late 1990’s, Cheryl and I traveled to Argentina with team organized by Ed Silvoso. We had a truly awesome time and we learned so many things that remain a part of our ministry philosophy.
One of the principles we learned is that of “spiritual mapping”. Spiritual mapping involves a study of any given area and understanding what Lucifer has done to defile the area thus limiting the flow of God to bless the given area. Both God and Lucifer are into real estate and there is a cosmic battle raging for control of the area. Lucifer first waged war in Heaven then according to John in the Book of Revelation, chapter 12 was cast down to the earth; verses 7-12 (ESV)
I want to start out with a blog from our dear friend Susan Hawkins who writes a blog daily. The Lord has really had this topic of “tithing” on my heart for the last several weeks as I have tried to objectively examine it without guilt or condemnation. I loved Susan’s approach that “You can’t outgive God”. Susan wrote the following from Luke 6:38.
“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.
If you have seen the movie “The Passion” by Mel Gibson, you might remember a scene when Jesus was on His way to the cross on the “Via Dolorosa”. He stumbles by the weight of the cross and while He is on His knees while regathering Himself, He says to His mother “you see mother, I make all things new again”. Although it’s nice scene and is indeed what Jesus is doing, the verse is way out of Biblical context. That verse is actually from Revelation 21:5 and is spoken by the Father;
From Salome
“As I woke up this morning I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit alert me to an URGENCY for Watchman to come into POSITION and the BODY of Christ to TRIMM their lamps and to be READY, for we are to discern the TIMES!
I continued hearing and writing….
I wanted to expand a little further on what I spoke about last Sunday. Why? Because it is imperative that we get this right before the last great move of the Holy Spirit! There is a portion of Scripture in the Book of Genesis that is a fascinating read. It is the first “special forces” rescue and recovery in the Bible. Apparently, sometime after Lot had moved to Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities were taken captive during a war with the neighboring Kingdoms of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim.
Charlie just sent Cheryl and I a word that he recorded on his Rumble channel “School of Bass, Treble & Troubled Prophets, Vol 4”. I will set up the prophetic word with the following verses from Janes 1:2-8 (ESV)
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
When Cornerstone moved into its present facility over 22 years ago, I sensed the Lord telling me that we would know when He was done with us and would have another place ready for us to go. Well, that notification came last Thursday when our Muslim landlord asked us to be out by the end of August (he later changed it to September after my dear wife asked him for a month extension). After letting the shock pass, we both began to get excited about the future realizing that the Lord in constantly moving to increased levels of glory, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (ESV)
