“You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 1 Peter 2:4-6 NLT
Symbolic Stone
In architecture, a cornerstone is a foundational stone. A principal stone placed at the corner of the base of a building to secure its structure and help guide the builders in forming the entire building development.
The cornerstone is the most reliable, most immovable, most secured of any in the structure. Once the cornerstone is placed, everything is aligned to it.
Living Stone
The cornerstone determines every refinement in the continuing construction. Jesus Christ is this cornerstone in the life of believers, and the first living stone in building of the church body.
Jesus Christ is our cornerstone, our foundation, our support, our strength that builds steadfastness in faith, hope and love, and who we are called to build upon.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8 NKJV
This Time of Year
The spring season is a special time of year for many reasons. March-April is the time of the biblical new year- the beginning of months. It is the time of Passover which commemorates God’s instructions to the Israelites in Egypt to mark their houses with the blood of a sacrificed unblemished lamb so that the Lord would pass over their houses thereby protecting them from plague and destruction. The Lord’s Passover celebrates the Israelites’ exodus and ultimate freedom from slavery in Egypt- a foreshadowing of the ultimate passover and freedom from the slavery of sin and death through Jesus Christ.
This time of year is also the time of Holy Week which commemorates the final days of Jesus Christ who is the lamb of God and our ultimate passover lamb fulfillment. From Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a colt to the culmination in Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection, Holy Week memorializes the passion of Jesus Christ in His momentous journey to the cross and His trial, suffering and death on our behalf.
The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
As Christians in this world we will face suffering as followers of Jesus Christ but we rejoice in our sufferings knowing that Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price by His sacrifice which delivers us out of all our earthly trials and gives us the gift of eternal life. And though we may find ourselves weak at particular point in times in our lives, as the disciples were before Jesus’ arrest in the garden at Gethsemane, we must not be caught unexpectedly off guard. Jesus said to His disciples in the garden at Gethsemane, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”. Jesus knows our willing spirit and wants us to be aware of the weakness of the flesh also.
As we remember the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in this special time of year, let us also remember that the temporary suffering we face in this life is nothing compared to the suffering Jesus Christ endured for us to take hold of eternity in His presence. And let us remember our suffering is also the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”Philippians 3:12-14 ESV
“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 NASB
Healing, Protection, Everlasting life
From Genesis to Revelation, the Tree of Life stands firm and strong as a wonderful through line. It brings to us a great mental image and great expression of the fullness of God through Jesus Christ.
The Tree of Life is full of meaning of healing, protection, everlasting life, and abundance of God’s great love. The Tree of Life shows us harmony and togetherness with God through the image of roots, vines, branches, leaves, fruit and more.
The Tree of Life is represented in Jesus Christ. His life, death, and resurrection is the offering of healing, protection, and everlasting life. Jesus Christ is the promise, given to us by our Father God, seeded in the conveyance of Abraham’s personal heartfelt faith, which intently grew into blessings for his descendants, and the promise continued through to all the nations of the earth grafted in.
Jesus Christ, the branch of David, leads us from sin and death in Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis through to everlasting life as the way to healing of the nations in the book of Revelations.
The Vine
We, now being like trees with roots, branches, leaves and fruit are called by Jesus Christ to remain in Him who is the vine. He causes us to survive and thrive with the fruit of the Spirit. He invites us to this transformation.
In the Garden of Eden, where we so innocently once walked with God in His presence, and having access to the Tree of Life lived forever in peace with God, there we came to find ourselves in the midst of radical change- the regenerative plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.
And though distanced from the Tree of Life in the book of Genesis, we press on to what lies ahead, having access to this grace in which we stand- the bountiful grace of God- which blooms the Tree of Life. Be covered, eat, and be transformed by the Tree of Life that in revelation heals the nations.
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5 ESV
Love and Sacrifice
The feeling and action of fulfillment is satisfaction and completion. Fulfillment derives from something that was accomplished and the resulting integrity of that accomplishment. Fulfillment remedy’s debt- it counteracts and eliminates something owed. The necessary steps that were taken to meet a requirement or condition was successful according to a process. And in the midst of the process of fulfillment is love and sacrifice.
Our debt was paid long ago on the cross in fulfillment of God’s law. Jesus Christ died for our sins. He fulfilled the law of sin and death by taking the burden of our sins upon Himself and defeating death in resurrection. God made Him who knew no sin to be an offering for our sins so that we could be made right with God. And since this time of fulfillment in Christ, we have been brought close to Him that we may attain absolution and the resulting joy associated with His promise of forgiveness.
Our Advocate
In Jesus Christ we have an advocate who intercedes for us as we stand before God in judgement. Jesus Christ clothes us with righteousness and lives within our hearts as we are in Him also. He testifies to God on our behalf that we have been redeemed by His sacrifice- the shedding of His blood, and our receipt of grace and mercy through faith in Him who died for our sins. This fulfillment brings us atonement and reconciliation with God through Christ.
We are justified, and the promise of this fulfillment is everlasting. We have moved from a place of sin and injustice to the state of grace and justice. And when we receive justification through faith, our obligation changes from slave to sin to freedom from sin.
The Courts of Heaven
There is a cost for sin < the price was paid < fulfillment made.
And in the courts of heaven God sees our condition. Have we moved from a state of sin to a state of righteousness? Has the accuser of Job, the enemy of God and man succeeded in his accounts to discredit us before God? Or are we confident in our position- having joy and peace in believing the fulfillment of Jesus Christ, His forgiveness, and God’s everlasting love.
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” Romans 8:31-34 NKJV
“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 NASB
Birth Pangs
When Jesus spoke to His disciples about a future time before His second coming, He spoke of birth pangs. The productive pain of something that is just beginning- or that has begun since the time of Jesus. A pain that leads to a positive result.
We hold this pain in the form of a longing for the return of Jesus Christ, and this longing grows as we grow in Christ. We can also relate to this pain in many varied ways. In the birth of a child, the birth of aspirations, the birth of hope fulfilled.
“It’s not small it’s just beginning” is a call to remember that the desires of our hearts, which God knows more than we do, which leads to wisdom and understanding is beginning to grow or increase rapidly, as the state of the world also increases rapidly in conquest, division, economic changes, and demise. Personal birth pangs and societal birth pangs are intensifying consecutively. Small now, but just the beginning.
Hope & A Future
For those who believe, Jesus offers us hope and a future. He offers us a time of maturation- a gestational period of development where our faith grows, and hope and love is made reality within us. As Jesus covers us in His righteousness and protection, He fortifies and strengthens us, and prepares us for the pain of birth and sanctifies us in the process as we submit to His process.
The birth pangs are real as they have been happening throughout the centuries. And now we feel them too. They are collectively happening within and without. A course of reckoning of the state of things. He has always been preparing His church body- His bride, and the world for His coming. And He has indwelled within us the Holy Spirt, full of purpose and promise for His glory.
“Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;” 1 Corinthians 2:6-7
Remembering
Before you were born, you were inspired, breathed, and known by God. Every bit of information that is your intricate genetic makeup is known and stored within you by God. You are of a reverberating lineage; one that is vibrant and resounding in space and time. Who still remembers?
Innatism suggests that the mind is born with knowledge, ideas, and beliefs. Memory that transcends our experiences. Could there be memories encoded before birth? An intangible faculty of memory stored prior to all mind body experience.
Although the mind is not a blank slate at birth, we need our senses and experiences as keys to unlocking what is stored knowledge and intellect, and even remembrance. Things that are innate to you are things that you naturally identify with through sensation, reflection, and memory.
Memory is your brain’s capacity and function to encode, store, retain, and recall information from sensory experiences. The collection of our experiences since birth and our innate sensibilities. Every experience and memory shapes us in purposeful ways. And although specific memories may be forgotten, those memories that truly shape us are never completely gone.
Third Camping Trip: Elk Neck State Park, North East MD.
The day was perfect, not too hot or cold. The family even went for a swim, the children splashed and had fun.
The day continued to pass, soon we ate and washed up, time for bed.
It began to rain, the children fell a sleep, soon after I retired to bed. I drifted in and out of light sleep. My husband eventually retired to bed. I tried to drift off to sleep but could not because of the heavy patter of rain drops. I closed my eyes, my husband managed to sleep a bit but awoke after sometime; both of us awake. As I open my eyes I realised he had fallen back to sleep. I on the other hand noticed the sound of the wind with the heavy rain drops batter the canvas of the caravan so began to talk with my Lord until it was nearly day break.
There are two faith points I see. First point- the scripture says Psalms 91:1 “he that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide…” What does it mean? I read a commentary that said we as Christians are not visitors to the secret place. Talking with my mother, she hit the nail on the head, we are meant to live there! How does this come about? By making a choice to stay there, making our minds up to stay there! Back to the caravan I stayed inside it. What if I had gone out, something bad more likely could have happened. I stayed inside where it was safe, although I was hearing the noises.
The following day late afternoon my daughter and I went back to the Elk River where it feeds into the sea. We went to the spot where the day before we had sat on a log in the sand; this time the water had risen closer to land. My daughter automatically bent her knees and stooped playing in the sand. I looked across the water, it has beautiful landscaping, brought my eyes back to the shore when I spotted the head of what looks like a turtle. Looking to see its shell, as it was swimming across the top of the water when I realised it was a snake. I quickly bent and pick my daughter up to show her the snake. By the time I did that and look the snake was in front of us, across in the water. It looked as if, it was about to turn it’s head to look when we basically had our feet in our hands.
The second point of faith. My family and I were at the same spot the day before. It was scenic, no obvious harm or danger but I know that there are snakes in Maryland. Not because I don’t see them, it does not mean they do not exist. I also know my Lord protects my family because I am dwelling in the secret place of the Most high.
When we stay under the Lord’s umbrella then we are protected automatically and His promises fall into place.
God is in the small things too. I woke up this morning wanting some encouragement and received two messages. One was an Easter message and the other message was with a hug. Again I received this message, meaning twice in the same morning.
I remember the Lord had done this before, I felt a little down, though no one knew and I didn’t say anything to anyone. The next thing I knew some one invited me to have coffee with them.
Thought for today is who is Jesus, a continuation of previous broadcast. According to Mark 1, it’s first reference regarding Jesus is, as the Son of God; capital (S)!
Jesus is acknowledge in verse 11 “A voice from heaven say, Thou art my beloved son, in who I am well pleased.
Then the scripture goes on to talk about His ministry, He healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils in verse 34.
Verses 39 through to 41 goes on to more healing and in verse 41 “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touch him, and said unto him. I (Jesus) will; be thou clean”.
In verses 42) said the man was healed and in verse 43) He (Jesus) straitly charge him, and forthwith sent him away ….44) and see thou say nothing.
There are other references to Jesus such as King, Ho-san-na, Lord, Saviour and Messiah (the lady at the well made reference to) etc.
As time goes by I may continue to share on each of these references.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
Build Relationship
Through prayer and meditation, we communicate and build a relationship with our God and Savior. This is a very important practice, one that is essential to understanding the very specific work God has for us. It is how we are guided by God to become our best selves, body, soul, and mind, in order to carry out our God given purpose.
Follow the example of Jesus and how often He prayed- early in the morning before daybreak (mark 1:35), alone at night (Matthew 14:23), in the wilderness for 40 days before his ministry began (Luke 4:1), earnestly in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:44). Jesus encourages prayer, He says to “always pray and never give up” (Luke 18:1).
Build Connection
When we pray and meditate we give thanks and praise and make the request of our hearts known to God. Prayer and meditation also puts us in a place of deep thought and reflection, as in the gospel, “I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works” (Psalm 145:5) also “I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands” (Psalm 143:5). Through prayer and meditation our connection with God is strengthened and we are able to receive clearer direction on what is best for our lives.
Start.Find a quiet place where you can pray and meditate without distraction. You can have your bible or a note sheet with you in case you are inspired to find a passage or remember something God sparks in your thoughts. Speak to God, cry out to Him, whisper to Him, thank Him, praise Him, sit silently with Him, feel His Spirit and let His Spirit flow through you. Make the most of your time with Him, God delights in this time, it pleases Him.
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength”
Proverbs 17:22
The truth of Jesus Christ is the anchor to our souls. This truth directs us to what is best for our lives. It leads us to be good to ourselves, to do good for others, and expect all that is good from our lives. It guides us in a healthy direction.
Searching Heart
Our belief in the truth is what matters to our whole being because it harmonizes our whole being. We need to search our hearts and determine what we believe, and as it says in the gospel “Today when you hear His voice, don’t harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15). Seeking God is a very personal process and it is guided by our experiences in life- the people we meet, our experiences of right and wrong, good and evil. God guides us into truth and leads us to a place where we find Him. He develops an interest within us to understand Him and to pursue Him. Do you feel that call, that desire to know Him more? To know more and more of the truth?
One of the best places to start is in the word of God that teaches us that Jesus is the way the truth and the life- belief comes from hearing the good news about Christ. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:1-5).
The word of God in our bible is one of God’s most glorious gifts! It uncovers the truth and teaches us how to live, how to overcome, and how to prosper. “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (Hebrews 4:12).
Believing Heart
Learning the truth that is God’s word is how we anchor our soul and bring our body (heart), soul, and mind into harmony. As it says in the gospel “and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Lets strive to be free from bad habits and negativity that inhibit our growth and our best health. Anything that abridges our harmony impacts our efforts to be useful for God.
Start. Take a stand to determine what you believe. Search your heart, soul, and mind and listen to its call- the gospel says “I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts” (Hebrews 10:16). We grew up with the things that are known in the Bible, and if we didn’t grow up with it, it came to our knowledge in some divine way- as the gospel says, “For everyone, from the least to the greatest will know me already” (Hebrews 8:11). Trust God as firmly as you did when you first believed. Connect with the truth of the word of God through church, bible studies, bible journaling, TV or radio ministry, or any other way you can learn more about God. Jesus is calling…. calling you for the first time, calling you back, or calling you deeper. Listen, learn, follow, believe.
