Good morning,
Praise be to Jesus for this new day. Alice and I walked for about four miles late last evening. Praise the Lord He gives us the strength to walk almost every evening. It is getting colder, but it is always invigorating.
It is All Saints Day in the church Calendar. Looking at the wonderful working of our Lord in the lives of His people in Salvation History, we discover that previously God had used “the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night” as symbols of his leading, presence and protection. God then chose to lead the people in a new way, by the “Ark of the covenant.” The ark has fascinated people for over three thousand years. The ark symbolized the presence and power of God with His people.
The presence of the Ark represented the person and promises of God. Having it lead the way pointed to the fact that as the people of Israel set out to cross the Jordan, to invade and possess the land, they must do so not in their own strength, but in God’s. It was God Himself who was going before them as their source of victory.
When we face times of crisis or when we need direction in life, we need to learn to be sensitive to the movement of the Lord in and around us. When God is at work among us and around us we cannot help but expect to hear the call to go forward. When God is at work, we are sometimes moved right out of our comfort zones into the path of new opportunities.
If we are facing a raging Jordan today, it may be our river of opportunity. How many times has God called then waited for us to step out in faith? He waits for us to be willing to get our feet wet. Most of us, however, are not risk takers. We don’t like it much when we face the truly defining moments, when God asks us to cross over. We as humans like to hold on to the familiar, but God wants us to be people who are willing to grow and expand, and claim new territory.
There are plenty of crossover times in life. Along with hope and joy there are also problems, which we simply have neither the strength nor the wisdom to meet.
In their minds some people consider a particular age to be a crossover point. Sometimes people think that at some magical age we will be more alive than we are today. On the contrary, we will never be more alive in this life than we are at this moment.
Disease and sickness can be very dramatic crossover events. Although these can be new and frightening pathways, nothing is new to God. God has promised to never leave us or abandon us.
The presence of the Ark represented the person and promises of God. Having it lead the way pointed to the fact that as the people of Israel set out to cross the Jordan, to invade and possess the land, they must do so not in their own strength, but in God’s. It was God Himself who was going before them as their source of victory.
When we face times of crisis or when we need direction in life, we need to learn to be sensitive to the movement of the Lord in and around us. When God is at work among us and around us we cannot help but expect to hear the call to go forward. When God is at work, we are sometimes moved right out of our comfort zones into the path of new opportunities.
If we are facing a raging Jordan today, it may be our river of opportunity. How many times has God called then waited for us to step out in faith? He waits for us to be willing to get our feet wet. Most of us, however, are not risk takers. We don’t like it much when we face the truly defining moments, when God asks us to cross over. We as humans like to hold on to the familiar, but God wants us to be people who are willing to grow and expand, and claim new territory.
There are plenty of crossover times in life. Along with hope and joy there are also problems, which we simply have neither the strength nor the wisdom to meet.
In their minds some people consider a particular age to be a crossover point. Sometimes people think that at some magical age we will be more alive than we are today. On the contrary, we will never be more alive in this life than we are at this moment.
Disease and sickness can be very dramatic crossover events. Although these can be new and frightening pathways, nothing is new to God. God has promised to never leave us or abandon us.
The most life-changing crossover is the moment we make the spiritual decision to open our hearts and lives to Jesus Christ; to recognize the destructiveness of our lives and to turn to him and receive his forgiveness.
Death is the ultimate crossover moment. Death is also the final cross-over moment. The apostle Paul called it the last great enemy, but the reality is that Christ has promised us that He has taken the sting out of death. The victory is His. Christ walks with us even through “that” Jordan.
Again, today is All Saints day in our Church Calendar. Praise the Lord for all the saints who have gone before us and have crossed the river Jordan and stepped on to the Eternal City, the Promised Land, the New Jerusalem. Remember as we stand to face our crossover moments whatever they may be, as we are confronted and challenged with what is frightening but also thrilling in terms of opportunity that crossovers create new opportunities and broadened horizons. The end result of the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River was that God was magnified; Joshua was exalted, the people were energized and motivated, and the people of Canaan were terrorized.
Death is the ultimate crossover moment. Death is also the final cross-over moment. The apostle Paul called it the last great enemy, but the reality is that Christ has promised us that He has taken the sting out of death. The victory is His. Christ walks with us even through “that” Jordan.
Again, today is All Saints day in our Church Calendar. Praise the Lord for all the saints who have gone before us and have crossed the river Jordan and stepped on to the Eternal City, the Promised Land, the New Jerusalem. Remember as we stand to face our crossover moments whatever they may be, as we are confronted and challenged with what is frightening but also thrilling in terms of opportunity that crossovers create new opportunities and broadened horizons. The end result of the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River was that God was magnified; Joshua was exalted, the people were energized and motivated, and the people of Canaan were terrorized.
In Christ,
Brown
Saturday , November 5.2011
Praise and worship service:
First United Methodist Church , Endicott
Sponsored by Union Center UMC
6PM Gathering- Coffeee- Fellowship
6.30PM Worship
Music: Laureen Naik
Speaker: Rev William Turner
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