THE LORD’S JOY IS YOUR STRENGTH “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” —Nehemiah 8:10 “Joy of the Lord is your strength.” Do you have the joy of the Lord? This is the second fruitful characteristic of the Holy Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22— “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy… This joy is given by God’s Holy Spirit when we understand Who He is, who we are in our Lord Jesus Christ, our purposes in Him and our destination of being with Him forever in heaven. Consider the light and the ability to see. Ponder the water of the vast oceans and fresh…

HOLY SPIRIT When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in…

JESUS IS COMING BACK! They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” —Acts 1:10-11 Let us always remember that Jesus is going to return to this planet one day in the future just as these angels said. One of that last things Jesus said to His followers is “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes…

RISEN! Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” —John 20:24-25 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach…

IT IS FINISHED! “It is finished.” —John 19:30 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. —Isaiah 53:4-5 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. —I John 2:2 The physical brutality taken out on Jesus could be seen, but the spiritual torment for sin we cannot truly fathom. Not only did He…

HIS SERVANTS “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “ ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’ ” —II Chronicles 36:23 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing. —Ezra 1:1 This is…

BEAR WITNESS TO THE TRUTH Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. —John 18:36-38 “What…

HE CAN! Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly. —II Chronicles 29:36 Quickly? Surely God can bring about quickly anything He desires. Let us take great hope in this. Situations can change quickly to accomplish what the Lord desires in a people and for a people. People, places, circumstances, attitudes, actions, direction, ability can be changed quickly by our Lord God Almighty. In the above verse the people had been prepared by the Lord to keep the Passover and the Lord brought about the celebration quickly. He was the one that did this. As we seek…

GLORY! And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. —John 17:5 Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. —John 17:24 “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with…