Come!

 

When a person uses the word “Come”, there is anticipation that beckons them to follow.

When a person used the same word “Come!” with intensity and emotion people start to RUN to the caller.  When is used as an imperative, directive or command the urgency increases.

 

Let’s view some of the many times this word is used in scripture

 

John in his gospel, chapter  4, shares the story of a woman who used the command 

“ ‘Come, see a Man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?’ They went out of the city and came to Him!” 

 

The urgent cry of a woman, calling out to her community, beckoned the whole town to come and discover what she was talking about. This compelling shout out to others was such a

great need that she completely forgot the current task she was doing…gathering water…and instead traded it for something more valuable.  The living water provided by Jesus Christ.

 

The end result of responding to the directive “come”:  

She came to the Lord and the Samaritans came to the Lord.  They had so much belief and faith in Christ that they urged Jesus to stay longer with them and Jesus stayed for two more days sharing with them who He is, getting to know Him more intimately and personally. All because they heeded the call of this women to come. 

 

Matthew writes in chapter 8 of his gospel, about a desperate man who is asking for

the help of Jesus to heal his servant.  Even though the audience that Matthew writes to is

Jewish, Matthew highlights this passage of a centurion man, most likely of Roman ethnicity and a Gentile. 

 “ ‘ Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.’  And he said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’  But the centurion replied, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. ^“

 

 

The end result of asking the Son of Man to come : 

Jesus says yes to this Gentile man of high valor when he asks and comes.  This centurion tells Jesus that he is not worthy for Jesus to actually come to his home but to instead just speak the word and his servant will be healed.  Jesus marveled at his faith because it was so high for a centurion, a non Jew to speak such great words of faith.  His servant was healed because he dared to ask Jesus to come. Jesus comes to us when we ask in all sincerity and purity of heart.

 

Invitation to Come to Jesus

After Jesus prays to the heavenly Father, he extends a invitation to any and all to come to Him in Matthew chapter 11

^“ Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 

The end result of coming to Jesus? :

He will give us rest in a heavy laden life 

We will learn from Jesus who is the best Teacher ever!

We can glean gentleness, a lowliness of heart and rest for our souls

 

Jesus Himself personally invites you and personally invites me to come to Him!

The holy God of this world wants us to fellowship, visit and get to know Him.  

What an incredible privilege!

 

So, COME!  And see the Savior of world who currently sits on the right hand of God,

praying for us!

 

Chris Rice, a popular song writer and singer says it well with this hymn

 

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

 
Now your burden's  lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby
Don't  be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall...so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can't contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!

 

 

 

 

 

 

©Copyright 2013 Simone Lake. All Rights Reserved.

© Copyright 2013 Deep Roots in Christ Ministries. All Rights Reserved

 

About the author:

Simone Lake is a Christ follower, bride of Pastor Dr. John Lake, Bible teacher and a passionate pray-er. Visit her: www.simonelake.com, www.deeprootsinchrist.com, facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Love Now and Love for Eternity

Recently in the news there was a story of a baby elephant that weep for hours after being rejected by his own mother.  The mother not only rejected her baby, but she charged and stomped her own flesh.  Not only once, but twice!  The rejection was bad enough but the injury of stomping added a whole new dimension of suffering.  This baby had to be immediately removed from his mother each time and permanently the last time. This pain had such echelons of levels of pain that was so severe it causes this baby elephant to cry for 5 hours straight! 

This is just an example in the animal kingdom but in the world with people, there are a variety of horrific situations that areas similar and even worth

 

God loves us now and God loves us eternally. For those who have received Christ and follow Him as their authority can claim promises that God will never leave us or forsake us

Regardless of what circumstances you are in, have been through or encountered, physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally or any other way…  There is hope in God!  The great Healer!  The great Restorer!  The great Reconciler!   The great Lover our souls!

 

You can guarantee that God almighty; sitting in the heaven lies…in the highest authority since the beginning of the earth till eternal (none higher than Him)…This holy God will NEVER reject us EVER!  We just need to make sure we have not on a continual bases reject and deny Him! Not reject His Son and not rejected His covenant of wonderful offer of love to us.

 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

The answer to that question is no one!

 

Apostle Paul asks these rhetorical questions as he shares theology and practically exhortation of Christ to the people in Rome.  Using a format of questions and answers

Paul presents the Bible in a systematic reasoning process displaying that Jesus Christ is more than just head knowledge to be believed but instead to demonstrate understanding of that knowledge throughout our daily life of righteous living.  It is a life to be lived by God’s grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus!

 

Paul in Romans Chapter 8, asks these important questions:

Question:  Who will bring a charge against God’s elect?

Answer:  NO One because God is the one who justifies who dares to condemn!

 

Question: Who is the person who condemns God’s elect?

Answer: NO ONE because Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is           at the right hand of God, who also interceded for us

 

Question: Who will separate us from the love of Christ?

Answer: NO ONE !

 

Question:  Will tribulation [separate us] or distress, persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or           peril, or sword

Answer:  NO, NEVER!

 

 

Persuasion of Eternal Love

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come…nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  ”Romans 5:37-39

 

Dear friends examine and embrace this kind of love…the pure love only God can offer you

Will you take it?  Will you embrace His love now and His love for eternity? 

My deepest prayer is that you will be persuaded by this same eternal love that Paul had towards the Romans and I have towards those here in the Mogollon Rim and all the audience that reads this newspaper.

 

 

PRAYER

Dear Lord,

Help me to seek you and embrace your love for me now and for eternity.

Forgive me from all times I have failed your standards and hurt your heart deeply.

Instead may I cling to you and receive the love you have for me through your Son

Christ.-AMEN

 

 

© Copyright 2012 Simone Lake. All Rights Reserved

 

© Copyright 2012 Deep Roots in Christ Ministries. All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

About the author:

Simone Lake is a Christ follower, bride of Pastor Dr. John Lake, Bible teacher and a passionate pray-er.

Visit her: www.simonelake.com, www.deeprootsin christ.com, www.churchonrandallplace.org, facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Are You Hungry For?

 

One question that is often asked in our home has to do with food. 

 

Whether I am making a meal, my hubby is BBQing on the grill, we are

checking out restaurants to celebrate an event or if we are bringing

a favorite dish to our loved ones,  the question is always the same

What are you hungry for?  What do you have a taste for? 

What language are your taste buds speaking?

So when it is time for a meal, any kind of meal, inquiring minds want to know two things…

WHAT we will eat and WHEN will we be eating it.

 

There are multiple types of foods not to mention the varieties of ways to prepare each

type of food…the recipes are endless with millions of options.

 

After one identifies the what and the when about eating, there is another question to answer

Who will prepare or buy the food

 

Satisfying hunger is a big job and takes a lot of work!  However, when we do physically eat our favorite dishes such as that delicious steak and potatoes, the yummy cheesy enchiladas, the chicken and rice that is SO good,…or my favorite, the melt in your mouth cheese cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting…

unfortunately, the satisfaction of these meals are only temporary .  It goes in, it goes out, and then we start the process all over again to nourish our bodies once more.

 

Jesus had the same question.  What are you hungry for?

During Jesus’ three year ministry food and eating where significantly present, Jesus spend time teaching, fellowshipping and eating with His disciples and His followers throughout his whole ministry.  From creating food

to having Passover meal with the 12 disciples, eating food was incorporated in almost every aspect of His ministry. Jesus demonstrated and used analogies with food all the time as a way of bridging the gap of drawing others closer to the understanding and belief of who He is as Messiah to the point of receiving Him into their own heart.

 

Jesus the great Chef and gracious host

A chef is a skilled cook who manages the kitchen and all the additional responsibilities

thereof. Jesus’ did just that in Galilee where He fed the 5000. During the time of the Passover, Jesus’ followers had increased to a large multitude of people. After having a meeting with His disciples, Jesus assessed the situation, diagnosed the need and after instructing the disciples, immediately put into action a lunch meal in no time flat.  Course He did not have to cook anything but created even more fish and barley loaves with enough leftovers for people to take a to go box container home with more food to eat later.  Jesus understood hunger and He was ready to meet the people’s physical need with compassion.

 

Jesus is Bread

After Jesus feed the 5000, we see Jesus declaring one of his famous “I Am” statements

This was Jesus’ format of teaching throughout His ministry.  He would do something miraculous, then declare Himself as the holy Messiah by declaring the truth through a “I Am” statement.  Jesus knew that even though He gave them physical food to help curb their natural hunger, He knew that spiritual food was the utmost need that will last for eternity. However, they where only concerned with the natural food needs and not their spiritual school needs.  Jesus says,

             

^“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes [in me] has eternal life.  I am the bread of life. Your  fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from  heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” ^[1]

 

Blood and Flesh for Dinner

After Jesus declared that He is the great “I AM” He challenges those who heard Him to

prove it through accountability by a change of behavior

 

 “ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of   Man and drink

his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my  blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”  John 6:53-58

 

Are you Hungry?

Self Evaluation

What are you hungry for?  Physically food, spiritual food, both?

Will you ask God for a deeper hunger for Him above and beyond all else?

Will you seek to eat his blood and flesh by practically reading the Bible daily ?

 

Prayer:

Dear God give me spiritual food, bread from heaven, namely your blood and flesh that I might feed upon You and have ever lasting life for eternity.

 

 

© Copyright 2013 Simone Lake. All Rights Reserved.

 

© Copyright 2013 Deep Roots in Christ Ministries. All Rights Reserved