I Want to See You

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“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last." – Revelation 1:17

  In a pool of sweat, the sheets sticking to his flesh, despite the chill in the air that evening.  Sleep was fleeting, his eyes ached with the desire to close and simply rest, but the thoughts racing through his mind prevented it.  Reaching to the night stand he sees the numbers change from 3:10 to 3:11; as he picked up the bottle of water.  Drinking from the bottle, his thirst quenched momentarily.  For reasons unknown the man rose and feel to his knees, and lay prostrate on the floor near the bed, crying out to the Lord he once knew.  In his mind, he saw the King of Kings standing atop a mountain, and He motioned for the man to come up.  Fear welled up inside of the man’s mind, as he made his way up to the top.  From there he could see the world, in it’s entirety, and He heard these words from the Man standing with him – “Fear not, My child; for I am with you always, and I will never leave your side.  You’re going to do great things for My kingdom and many will hear the words which I will give you.  You are forgiven and your path is clear, do not turn from what I have called you to do.  Now rest.”  With that the Spirit was gone and the man sang out in worship to the Lamb of God.  Three hours later the alarm sounded and he awoke completely rested as if he had slept for days.

  She was born crippled in her arm and legs.  Her mother died at a young age and her father dedicated his life to finding helping her find a cure, even resorting in driving to Mecca multiple times and praying to Allah.  After her father’s death, she lost it, feeling abandoned, helpless and alone in this world.  In a dream Jesus came to her and introduced Himself as the healer.  For three years she continuously read the scriptures of His healing powers, but nothing happened.  One night in her despair she called out to Jesus, “Why have I prayed and yet you have not healed me?”  Then the room was filled with bright light, and standing amidst the light was Jesus Christ, radiant beyond description, with eyes of blue filled with passion.  “I am Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, Son of God.  You have been praying my name for 3 years. Come to me. . . I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.  You get up and come to Me.”  New flesh came upon her crippled bones and she was able to walk to Him.  Kneeling at His feet,  He blessed her and made her body whole once again.

  He walked along a road when suddenly a bright light came from the sky and blinded him.  A voice came from within the light and said, “Saul, Saul, Why do you persecute Me?” “Who are you?”  “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.”  “What shall I do?” “Get up and go to Damascus, there you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.”  (Acts 22:7-10) After the light was gone, he rose to his feet, now blind and was helped by his traveling companions to the city of Damascus.  There he met a man who had also heard from Jesus in a dream.  This man revealed the calling of Christ on Saul’s life and his name became Paul – the greatest Apostle of Jesus Christ ever to walk the earth.

 

So, perhaps you’ve never had a face to face encounter with the Son of God; does this make Him any less real to you?  Personal encounters with Jesus Christ have been testified too by millions of people over thousands of years.  It’s funny though, when some hear of such an encounter, their first reaction is to be a skeptic and discount it as just someone’s fantasy to gain attention. The truth is that Jesus Christ is very much alive and amongst us today.  There is a spiritual world around us and He is actively engaging people in this realm as He has since the day He ascended to the Father.  Why can we read about it in the scriptures, where He engaged Peter from the shore, He engaged Saul on the road to Damascus, He engaged the disciples in the upper room, He engaged John on the island of Patmos (to write the book of Revelation).  If indeed we believe the scriptures to be true and sacred, than why can’t we wrap our head around the reality that Christ stills will engage individuals today.

  I for one have no problem at all accepting that Christ is alive today and speaking with people when He deems it is appropriate.  There are countless testimonies of people in the Middle East seeing Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in their presence.  Millions of Muslims have testified and given up their Islamic religion because Christ has come to them.  We hear countless stories of people who on their death bed have encountered Jesus Christ, and then come back to testify to His glory and existence.  Many more have the gift of prophecy and hear from the Lord frequently with direction and purpose for their life.

  So, how about you?  What would you say to Jesus Christ if He stood at the foot of your bed?  Would you fall to your knees and worship Him, or would you beg forgiveness, or would you cry out in anger over something that has gone wrong in your life?  Would you fear His return, for yourself or for those around you, who may not have a relationship with Him?  Accept the fact that He is real and is with you always.  Whether you see Him in your lifetime or not, does not make Him more real.  Reach out to Him with your prayers and praises on the faith of His love and God’s mercy and grace.  He will answer your prayers in His timing. 
 

             

© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
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Help them See

Help them See

“For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth." – Acts 13:47 

Who are you when you are amongst strangers?  Who is it that you are representing and what impression are you trying to leave behind?  As dignitaries and professionals travel the globe one of the things that they are constantly aware of is their position as an ambassador for the company or country from which they come.  They must carry themselves in a manner that is representative of the values, the integrity and the honor of who it is that sent them. 

Here, we find Paul the Apostle echoing the scriptures from Isaiah 42:6.  Paul was steep in knowledge of the scriptures.  We read that he had been a student of Pharisaism, under Galmaliel, considered the most profound rabbinical teacher of the time.  Saul (later known as Paul) would have been a strict follower of the Torah (first four books of the Old Testament) and the writings of the prophets.  He was an Israelite by his ancestry, from the tribe of Benjamin, but had Roman citizenship by the location of his birth in Tarsus.  Saul persecuted the followers of Jesus Christ, as am ambassador of the Sanhedrin and Jewish leaders.  With compassion and loyalty he represented their interests and everything he knew and had learned up to that point in his life.

After Jesus Christ, himself, confronted him on the road to Damascus, his life and mission was forever changed.  With the depth of knowledge he had prior to that event, the unveiling of the true Messiah set a course for the rest of his life that would lead him to prison, torture, near death experiences and evangelism beyond comprehension in today’s world.  A personal experience with Jesus Christ coupled with a passion and commitment to spreading the truth created what we have come to know as the single greatest missionary of all time. 

Educated beyond most and seen as a man with great potential among the Jewish leaders.  He was confident in his knowledge, his faith and his purpose to destroy the early Christian church and prove that it was simply another uprising against the Jewish beliefs in God.  After that day on the road to Damascus, he dedicated his entire life to promoting Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Messiah and the only way to salvation.  Either he completely lost his senses and became a crazed man on that road, or he truly came face to face with God’s only Son and forever changed the Christian church.  If the former is true and Paul did became crazed that day, than our Christian belief structure is filled with lies and false doctrine.  We have been mislead by Paul, having spent his entire life suffering to the point of death, being imprisoned and banished from certain lands all to propagate his lie, to strangers he did not know or care about.  As we know it though, the later was the truth and Paul became the spokesman and preacher for the early Christian church.

Paul became an ambassador for Christ.  He carried the message as far as his feet would take him.  He was not wealthy by monetary standards, but unbelievable rich in love for the Lord.  He took this scripture from Isaiah 42:6 literally and carried the word of the Lord to every person he could in order to share the “light of salvation” with them.  He was capable of recognizing his weakness’, his sinful life and the grace by which he was saved.  His personal story, after experiencing Jesus Christ, is captured in 13 books in the New Testament and has become the cornerstone for many outreaches and missionaries around the globe.  The question we should be asking ourselves today is, ”If this educated man and ambassador of the Jewish leadership dedicated his life, livelihood and passion to spreading the good news of Jesus Christ as far as possible, why aren’t we?”

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
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