The Trumpet Will Sound

When Joseph’s family moved to Egypt, he said to them… “And you shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you, and your children, and your children’s children, and your flocks, and your herds, and all that you have: and there I will nourish you” (Genesis 45:10).   Goshen means “drawing near.” It was a city set aside for the relatives of Joseph since shepherds are an abomination to Egyptians. It was there that they “had possessions, and grew, and multiplie

When Israel began their journey through the wilderness, God rained “bread from Heaven” and the people were to “gather a certain rate every day.” They were to gather it every morning, if they waited too long and the sun arose, it melted. What was gathered each day, bred worms and stank if they left it to the next day, and no manna rained down on the Sabbath day, for on Friday, God sent double which miraculously lasted for two days.   When Jesus was born, the angels called Him

The beautiful Christmas song, O Holy Night, was written in 1847, but you would think it was written for our own troubled day…  “O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining, it is the night of our dear Savior’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices! For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees, O hear the angels voices, O night divine, O night when Christ w

The prophets of old spoke of a day when Jesus would be born. The detail of their prophecies was fulfilled exactly as it was given by God. The prophet Hosea lived 750 years before Christ was born and wrote that God the Father would call His Son out of Egypt. We know Jesus was hidden there from Herod until Herod had died, then His Father called Him back to Israel (Hosea 11:1).    Another prophecy, an ancient one, out of Numbers 24:17, recorded by Moses though spoken by Balaam,

Isaiah prophesied of a day when there would be those that are completely and utterly captivated with One Message-that God has come to live with humanity, to make God known, to save the lost, and to provide a Way forward into eternity for everyone who believes… “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring Good News, who proclaim Peace, who bring Good Tidings, who proclaim Salvation, who say to Zion, ‘the God of Israel reigns!’” (Isaiah 52:7)    These “messen

I’m glad God’s army heralded the Gospel of Christ’s birth from the skies so that no one can change it… “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10,11)   There are three elements to this Gospel that cannot be changed. First is that God genuinely loves ALL PEOPLE. Second, is that God genuinely desires to save ALL people. Lastly, God is

When Israel walked through the wilderness for forty years, they had no grocery stores, no bottled water, no hospitals, no schools or universities, no clothing stores. But they had the Lord and that meant they had Everything.   Manna rained down for their daily bread, a taste of the true Bread of Life which came down from Heaven to give life to the world. They drank fresh water, from the Smitten Rock, and… “that Rock was Christ” who gives the Living Water of His Spirit to all

When Jesus first came, a small group of people, unknown and insignificant to the world, were anticipating His appearing. Zacharias and Elizabeth, old yet still serving; Joseph and Mary, living in poverty; nameless shepherds; nameless Magi, ready to travel, and aged Simeon and Anna.   God has a Book of Remembrance for those who wait for Christ.  But He didn’t just give them honorable mention, He made them “partakers” of the story. As they shared the waiting, the suffering, and

When God promised Abram a Seed to bless the world (Christ), God “cut” a Covenant with him. Covenants are not just promises of the mouth, or written on paper, they are promises “cut” in blood. The idea is, “I will keep my word on pains of death.”   When Jesus was born, He came to us as God’s Living Covenant… “I give You for a Covenant of the people, for a Light to the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:6). Simeon, an old man who had been faithfully waiting for Messiah to come, quoted this v

Have you ever looked at this world and in grief thought to yourself, “This is what it looks like to live life without God.” And then thankfulness fills your soul for all that you have in Christ. Who can do life without Him?! Those that stumble along in darkness are who Jesus came for, not those that are in the light… “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, in them has light shone.” (Isaiah 9:2) When Jesus was b

Science and the wide array of diagnostic tests are confirming everything the Bible has said about the mind and the heart. Brain scans now reveal that negative thoughts, pessimism, and defeatism, carve a deeply entrenched neural path in the brain that appears black and rugged like a dead branch. When another situation arises, the brain automatically defaults to this same pre-cut response. Brain patterns become predictable and people get stuck in their negativity.    But… when

A Jewish man who was imprisoned in an underground tunnel for two years, shared that his survival was dependent on finding anything, even a small thing, to be thankful for. He shared this concept with other prisoners and they lamented that they could find nothing to be thankful for; their hopelessness was overwhelming. But he urged them to be thankful for the tiny bit of tomato in their rice, as they usually got none. The next day, these same prisoners found several things to

The announcement of Christ’s first appearing brought a joy we still celebrate… “And the angel said, ‘Fear not, Zacharias: for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you shall have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord… and shall go before HIM…”   HIM. The long-awaited Messiah, the Savior of the world, was on His way. Six months later, when Mary we

One of the great benefits of salvation is prayer. With sins forgiven, we have freedom to enter God’s Throne Room 24/7 and ask what we will… “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand” (Romans 5:1,2).   We don’t have wonder if God will hear our prayers. Jesus settled that when He said, “Whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may

Last year, a young man in Indonesia heard a sound like a rushing water tap. Looking behind him a wall of water was coming towards him. He saw a tree up ahead and ran towards it. Grabbing hold of it, he was able to resist the water and climb to safety. There he stayed watching the destruction of the tsunami around him for hours. The tree saved his life.  The Lord told His prophets to tell the people to “be strong in the Lord.” He wasn’t just saying “buck up” in hard times. The

“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17).   What a glorious description of Christ this is. But what a contrast to His first appearing. The King came first as a Servant; the Eternal God entered time; the Immortal God took on flesh so He could die as our Substitute. The Invisible God “appeared” so that we could see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The only wise God came as a Babe

Jesus was speaking to thousands of people when He declared that if you are a follower of His, that, “You are the salt of the earth… and you are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven” (Matthew 5:13

In our humanness we are a bit addicted to control. We assess a situation… figure out the easiest fix and proceed in our own power. We tell ourselves it’s just great problem-solving skills, but somewhere in this equation we must remember two things… God is often doing a greater work, and secondly, by stepping in and “fixing” everything, we rob God of His plans and His glory.   Abraham and Sarah thought they would “help” God bring about the promised son, and Hagar was given to

An extreme G5 geomagnetic storm reached earth this week, gifting many parts of the world’s skies with dazzling colors, even southern states that never see the aurora. Geomagnetic storms are caused when the sun has explosions of plasma sending magnetic fields rushing toward earth. Is this a random event or a sign we were told to watch for?   “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, in the stars” … (take note in these verses what accompanies these signs) …   “And on th

God called Noah and said, “Come, you and all your household into the Ark; for you have I seen righteous before Me in this generation” (Genesis 7:1).   When Jesus returns to judge the world, what kind of “righteousness” is He looking for? There’s much “self-righteousness” that people hope will be good enough, but it doesn’t pass the test of God’s requirements. For no one who sins against God can also claim to be righteous… “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteous