Praise the Lord for this bright new day. Yesterday (Monday) was a brilliant day. It was bright. The fields and the meadows are still covered with lots of snow. The Lord dazzles the earth as He sends the Light that beams over the snow, causing it to sparkle with His splendor. Though it has been cold the sunlight is melting it vigorously. Indeed, there is power not only in the sun, but in the "SON". He has power to cast out darkness. He has the power to dispel the frost from our hearts. He is able to give and He does give us "New Hearts. . . Warm Hearts".
I have been blessed and privileged to be in the Holy Land several times. Every time I have been there I have visited the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is a large fresh water lake, teeming with fish and waterfowl. The Dead Sea is, well, dead. Nothing lives in it. What's the difference? The Sea of Galilee receives water and then shares its water. The Jordan River flows out of the Sea of Galilee and provides fresh water for thousands of acres of farmland. That water eventually flows into the Dead Sea, but the Dead Sea has no outlet. It only receives; it never gives.
People are the same way. God never designed you to be a Dead Sea person, only receiving His blessings. He designed you to be a Sea of Galilee person, constantly giving because He has given to you. Never become a blessing receptacle only, but a channel of blessing to others!
In the famous movie Lawrence of Arabia, Peter O'Toole is the lead actor. It is one movie which has many redeeming elements, unlike many that come out of Hollywood nowadays. It is based on the true story of T. E. Lawrence, a dashing British soldier in World War I, who united the Arab tribes and led them in battle against the Turks, who were aligned with the Germans. After the Allied victory, Lawrence was invited to Paris to participate in the peace talks. He took with him several of the Arab leaders who stayed in the same hotel as Lawrence. These desert dwellers had never before seen indoor plumbing. They were amazed that when they turned on the faucet to the bathtub that it filled up with water. They thought it was magic.
After the peace talks were completed, the delegation was preparing to leave. Lawrence was surprised to discover his Arab friends had removed the faucets from their bathtubs and had packed them in their luggage. They assumed the faucets themselves were magic and had produced the water. Lawrence patiently explained that the faucets didn't produce the water, but were connected to pipes which were connected to a source of fresh water. Once they were disconnected from that source, they were just empty fixtures.
What a powerful parable this is of the Christian life! People who find their identity in their religion, race, rank, or by keeping rules are only disconnected faucets; our true worth is found because of our connection with Jesus Christ. If we are not connected to Jesus Christ, then we are cut off from the source of life. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:7).
The ground is level at the foot of the cross. There is no room for us to feel any sense of superiority above anyone else. It also means that anyone can come to the cross. Since the ground is level, there is no religious mountain of rules and regulations to climb. It also means that we don't have to have any special status or position to come to Jesus. There's an old hymn that says: "The ground is level at the foot of the cross. Anyone may come, for there is no cost. Rich man or poor man, bonded or free, the ground was leveled that day at Calvary."
All we need is an invitation. The Lord's invitation is repeated throughout the Bible. So we wouldn't miss it, He made one final invitation to us on the very last page of His Book. He said, "The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!' And let him who hears say, ‘Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life" (Revelation 22:17).
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/PANiveIKVX0
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