Played: 185 | Download | Duration: 00:28:31

Gen 6:13  And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
 

The end of all flesh. That is quite stark and seemingly brutal. Yet, the real brutality existed among the exhibitionist citizens of the earth who placated violence as if it were as second nature as drinking and eating. The sadistic world had lost all God consciousness. Only one man stood clean among the filth, Noah. He was graciously told how to build an “escape” boat; he spent several decades tirelessly constructing it to specifications. When the last sawdust blew away from the finished ark, Noah and his family quietly boarded the boat and watched curiously as God Himself shut them in. Then the thunder struck. Lightning bolts blasted the nearby ground and trees. The earth shifted in anger, judgment geysers shooting sky high. The boat rocked from its safe perch. Soon every mountain peak was baptized in roiling water, the highest peak covered by at least fifteen feet. Soon, the only human breath left on the entire planet was within the confines of the ark.

Gen 8:3  And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.

This points to another perspective of the end. Not the end as it pertains to judgments and chaos, but the end as it pertains to hope and replenishing; as it pertains to restoration and grace. Here, we see sunlight cast on troubled waters. We see an ark floating on the sea, but then the rain stopped. The waters began to recede. There was an end to the storm. My friend, there are cataclysmically terrible things about to transpire on this earth, and having seen earthquakes ravage third world countries, tsunamis sweep away entire villages and towns causing mass death, tornados and hurricanes do unspeakable damage to shorelines and quiet towns, we kind of understand how bad it might really get. And not to pour salt on the wound, but scripture unfortunately dictates that things will get worse…but they will get better.

Played: 166 | Download | Duration: 00:28:30

Deception cannot work until the subtle beast perceives you are weak in faith. The slithering serpent saw an easy target when gullible Eve stumbled upon the forbidden fruit. The way her eyes glanced at the fruit. The way she looked confused. Should she take it? Should she leave it? Hesitant curiosity should have been quickly replaced with matter of fact truth. But she was too weak. She was vulnerable to the tempter’s words.

When you fast forward the pages ahead to the wilderness where Jesus was tempted by the same devil, you see that Jesus did not display the same gullible weakness. He was strong in spirit. He was resolute in His stand against the enemy. He was not swayed by persuasive words, sensational sights, or easy exits. He stood his ground by returned to the foundation of power. “It is written.”

When Satan approached the vulnerable female of Paradise, he asked her, “Yea, hath God said ye shall not eat of all the trees of the garden?” This phrase in the Hebrew is an interrogative expressing surprise. It was as if the serpent costumed adversary shrugged his scaly shoulders. The spirit of the question was to release confusion.

My friend, if you have questions in your life that are causing you confusion, then I encourage you to pray. Prayer to God submits every question to power of his purpose, his truth, and His ultimate decisive command. Listen now...

Played: 178 | Download | Duration: 00:28:31

Played: 195 | Download | Duration: 00:28:30

Played: 186 | Download | Duration: 00:28:31

The sun was a golden seed budded from the black soils of night. Dawn bloomed with bright orange as the diamonds of night disappeared. The Messiah shuffled briskly through the courtyard, and then curved toward the Pool of Siloam. A few hours earlier he had incensed the Pharisees with Divine declarations; now he would follow that up with Divine demonstrations. And he would do it at the reservoir.

Seven centuries earlier King Hezekiah feared that invading Assyrians would seize the exposed spring, Gihon, which lay just outside the city walls in the Kidron Valley. So he had his builders carve out a reservoir, The Pool of Siloam, just inside the city; and then, starting from both ends—the new reservoir and the existing spring—they hacked a tunnel under the city walls through 1752 feet of solid rock, which diverted Gihon’s water into the new and protected cistern.

On this day Jesus, God manifested in the flesh, The Word of hope that dwelt among men, would bring something to the Pool of Siloam from gurgling fountain of Heaven. A miracle. He would heal a blind man. He would spit on the ground, make a clay ointment, rub on the blind man’s eyes and command him to wash in the Pool. The scripture states in John 9, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

Played: 381 | Download | Duration: 00:28:30

Played: 245 | Download | Duration: 00:28:31

There are cave moments where we all feel the flash flood waters of life. They come rushing in before we know what has hit us. And often how we handle or respond to these moments are not helpful. WE make mistakes, like Gerald Moni reaching for only one rope when he needed to grab two. Then good plans plummet. Well thought intentions descend fast. Plunging ideas become nightmare scenarios. Are you falling fast? Did you grab the wrong rope, trust the wrong feeling, believe the wrong words? Do you feel like you are drowning in your ill timed decisions?

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This was God’s rescue operation. He sent his son into the cave of death so that you could rise from the darkness. Jesus was God manifested in the flesh, stepping into our sin-drowning world, saving us from the frigid waters of despair. He CAN save you. His arm is not shortened that it cannot save. He can reach you no matter how far you’ve fallen. He can love you no matter how much you hate others or yourself. He can sump pump the dredge of condemnation out of your soul, bring you out of the most dire circumstances, and put your feet in a safe place.

Played: 191 | Download | Duration: 00:28:31

Played: 124 | Download | Duration: 00:28:31

Living above the stars, the heartbroken Creator put on his flesh suit, becoming a little unheralded baby; wrapped in swaddling clothes, wrapped even more in love; laid in a manger, laid before that on the crimson stained foundation of the world. O holy night.

Living beneath the stars, the heartwarming savior placed his warm hands on the cold arms of the dead, life flourished again; withered dreams burgeoned like roses out of winter; he reached for the bruised reeds of society and gave them more than hope, he gave them power and purpose. O Holy life.

Living without the stars, hurting souls of our age wander aimlessly through cloud covered days. But light extends from the manger of his first birth to the mountain of his second coming. Someday soon every eye will see Him. Someday soon his first steps as a baby, long ago, will conclude with his last stand on the Mount of Olives as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. O Holy Sight. What a day that will be!!

Played: 116 | Download | Duration: 00:28:31