Holy Spirit

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee!

Some five hundred years before the arrival of Emmanuel, the prophet Isaiah prophesied that Emmanuel would come: ” Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

Thus, when it was nearing the time for Emmanuel’s arrival, God sent the angel Gabriel to tell the chosen virgin of His plans:

“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God.

And behold thou shall conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS” (Luke 126-31).

But when Joseph heard the news, he was distraught.”How could this be? He thought. Mary and I have not come together yet! I must divorce her before everybody finds out.”

“As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20).

“So it came to pass that there went Joseph up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them” (Luke 2:4-7).

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

O Come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny.
From depths of Hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o’er the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, Thou Day‑spring come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here,
And drive away the shades of night,
And pierce the clouds and bring us light.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, thou Key of David,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!


Who are you occupied with?

Are you occupied with Jesus? Most Christians I know would answer in the affirmative, but the truth is; most of the times we are more occupied for Jesus and not occupied with Him. Being occupied with Jesus means spending quality time with Him in prayer–seeking His favor and direction; just like Mary, who sat at His feet attentively while He Ministered to her.

Once upon a time there were two sisters who loved the Lord more than anything else. One named Mary the other named Martha. Mary liked to worship and Martha liked to cook.

The Bible tells us in Luke 10:38-42 that one day: “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was busy in the kitchen preparing food. She became distracted and overwhelmed by all the preparations that had to be made. So she came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Clearly, Martha had her priorities mixed up. She missed the opportunity to occupy herself with the Lord, by choosing the kitchen instead. Believers, do not be like Martha, be like Mary, who had her priorities in order. There is a time for everything under the sun.

Martha in the kitchen, serving with her hands,

Occupied for Jesus with her pots and pans,

Loving him—yet fevered,

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, c. 1597

Image via Wikipedia

Careful, troubled Martha,Burdened to the brim,

Occupied for Him.

Mary on the footstool, eyes upon the Lord,

Occupied with Jesus, drinking in His words,

This the one thing needful, all else strangely dim,

Loving resting Mary

Occupied with Him.

So may we like Mary choose the better part?

Resting in His presence, hands and feet and heart,

Strengthened with His grace,

Waiting for the summons,

Eyes upon His face.

When it comes, we’re ready,

Spirit, will and nerve—

Mary’s heart to worship,

Martha’s hands to serve.

This the rightful order, as our lamps we trim:

Occupied with Jesus—

Then occupied for Him.

Do you have oil in your lamp?

Winter is officially here, but Northeasters have been experiencing winter like weather for close to two months now. It all started in late October, when an unexpected nor’easter dumped several inches of wet heavy snow on the New England states, knocking out power everywhere; causing millions of dollars worth of damage. In Connecticut alone, it costs Connecticut Light and Power (CL&P), well over three hundred million dollars to restore power and do cleanup work.

Everything is back to normal now; just in time for Christmas, thank God, but we all dread what might happen in the coming months. Last winter was the worst in many years and there is no way to tell what this one might bring. Nevertheless, life goes on–one must prepare for the unexpected.

An unexpected snow storm that caught everyone off guard, reminds me of what the Bible says about Jesus’ return. “For you know quite well that the day of the Lord‘s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). And in Matthew 24:36, referring to His return, Jesus told His disciples: “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” The scripture is clearly telling us to prepare and be at the ready at all times because Jesus could return at any moment. If we failed to do so, we are likened to the 5 foolish virgins who had no oil in their lamps.

Believers, now is the time to trim our lamps and fill them up with oil. There won’t be time to do so when the bridegroom comes. He will only receive those who are ready to meet him. Luke 21:34, admonishes us to “take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” That’s exactly what happened to the 5 foolish virgins. They knew the bridegroom cometh but they failed to prepare.

We should make sure that we do not make the mistake the 5 foolish virgins made. They went out to get oil for their lamps when the bridegroom arrived but when they returned the door was closed. No doubt those virgins put their salvation on the back burner because they thought they had time. But they were wrong and so could you and I.

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Do you give God your all?

The world wants your best, but God wants your all. So what is preventing you from giving God your all?…Self…It’s hardly a secret that conquering self is the biggest problem Christians all over the world face daily. It was true for Jesus’ disciples— and it is true for modern-day Christians.

Somebody once said: “Learn to conquer self before you try to conquer the world.”Learning to conquer self is an ongoing struggle I am face with daily. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I understand that unless I overcome self I will not reach those higher heights and deeper depths, which the apostle Paul referred to in (Philippians 3:14), “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Most Christians, I would imagine, will not admit openly that they struggle with self, but I am not ashamed to admit that I do. As a matter of fact, one of the greatest Christians the world had ever known struggled with self and he was not ashamed to admit it.  The apostle Paul, a stalwart of the early and modern-day Church struggled with self. In (1 Corinthians 9:27), he writes: “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

The apostle Peter himself, struggled with self. When the soldiers took hold of Jesus, after Judas pointed Him out–the Bible says: “Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchu” (John 18:10).

The truth is we all struggle with self, whether you admit it or not.  It is the single biggest impediment that prevents many of us from giving God our all. Each of us has that 1 or 2 things that we cannot shake. We have been working on them for years or maybe months, but every time we thought we had them under control, they raise their ugly heads again.

The only solution for the problem of sin is to stay close to God. Feed on His words, walk in His footsteps and obey His commandments (Exodus 20), for “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24)

Now is the time to recommit yourself to Jesus Christ

Every believer goes through a period when you feel the need to recommit yourself to Jesus Christ– not because you have drifted away from the faith, but because you have recognized the need to reach higher heights and deeper depths in the Spirit.

Almost everybody in today’s world owns a navigation system. And we all know when that thing is getting ready to change direction–it prompts you with the words, “re-calculating, re-calculating”. That is similar to what your spiritual navigator does. He prompts you when you have lost your sense of purpose, and are no longer walking in the Spirit of God.

You see folks, it is the Spirit who directs your footsteps, your thoughts and ultimately your entire being. Romans 8:9 states: But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. Now if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. Paul is clearly telling you that the Spirit of God does not dwelleth in you at all times. Therefore, if the spirit of God is not dwelling in you, it is time to recommit and renew your covenant with God.

Will you join me in oneness of Spirit and recommit your life to God today?

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Hath broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, of that free love
The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,
Here for a season, then above,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

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