1 Corinthians 10:13

 A WAY OF ESCAPE



Our Lord Jesus Christ has thought of everything!  He not only suffered, died, and rose again for us, but He also "covered" us, in the very probable case that we would get ourselves into trouble.  He did what He always does, He made "A Way of Escape."

  "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

When our Lord Jesus Christ was tempted by satan, telling Him to turn the stone into bread; the Lord said to him, "It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God."  Then again in Luke, chapter 4, when satan tempted the Lord by taking Him to the high place and offering to give it all to him if He would worship him, Jesus stated, "For it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."  We have been given a "key" to the way out of every temptation .... "The Word of God."  Our "hole to freedom" can only be effective if we "know" the Bible and can recall the pertinent scripture when we are in those dire straights, better known as the very throws of temptation.  

The "Way of Escape" is simple; if we quote it to ourselves, "For it is written ..."  Then, we move on through that "hole" as fast as our stumbling little feet can carry us.  It's a lot like what Joseph did when Potiphar's wife set her sights on him and said, "come lie with me."  Joseph refused and fled saying, "...how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?"  Joseph remembered the Word and called it what it was, a sin, and then ran for his life.  

In our times of temptation, we often have a fleeting recollection of the vivid picture of the sin we're about to commit, but we conveniently forget the "run for the escape hole" part.  It's not until our "coat left behind" appears in the News that we painfully and shamefully state, "I should have run for the hills."

Three little words, "It is written" would save our lives, spare us from irreparable damage and despair, keep our families together, uphold our virtuous reputations, and preserve our souls, if we applied them in times of temptation.

The Lord Jesus Christ puts a lot of stock in that little word "escape."  Everything He did and does is to save us from the inevitable, everlasting torment.  He has planned the biggest escape of all, stated in Luke 21:36; "Watch ye therefore, and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."  He is referring to the great tribulation period, which is judgment for all those who "didn't run for the escape hole," but who yielded to their lusts and desires, who threw caution to the wind and did what felt good, instead of "It Is Written."

                                                                                                                                                  By Sheryl Fowler

(Visit promiseland.net and theexperience238.com.  PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, "Austin In Love," Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

Psalm 71:2

                    
                                            IN THE ARMS OF LOVE

The Shepherd watches diligently for the needs and cares of His sheep, and He is ever ready to rescue them.

                    "In Your righteousness, deliver me and rescue me; incline
                                                    Your ear to me and save me."

The Lord is nigh unto them of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.  (Psalm 34:18)  Your cry does not go unheeded; angels are dispatched to you with your first whisper.  Our Lord, Jesus Christ, is a Shepherd like no other; He holds you in His arms in times of trouble and carries you when you are too weak to walk.

Prayer moves Him, dispatches His multitudes of angels, and can even change the weather, to bring your answer.  You can encompass the world, fly like an eagle, stand behind a missionary in distress, pray at the Wailing Wall, and even reverse unfair laws, all on your knees.

In one of the most trying times of my life, the Lord said to me, "Get up, and go help somebody!"  The One who loves us more than life itself, will tell us what we need to hear, not what we "want" to hear.  I got up, wiped the tears from my eyes and began to work on the call-lines, at midnight, for my church.  In the beginning, I cried between calls for myself, but after a few calls, and after praying for others with their needs and cares, which seemed so much worse than mine, I discovered my burdens lifted.  It is the law of sowing and reaping; whatever you send out will come right back to you.  In rescuing others, we rescue ourselves.

If you live for the Lord long enough, you learn to prefer your brother; you hear "No" when you long for a yes; you spend time on the wheel, your "clay" being molded into a workable vessel; you learn that His treasures lie one step "below" the other; You find that to climb higher is to bow lower; to gain is to lose; to receive is to give; and to be a vessel of honor requires a step into the throws of humility.  It's an upside down, inside out, unreasonable, unpalatable, indigestible, sometimes unpleasant, mind-blowing, heart-wrenching, body-tearing, soul-searching, spirit-stretching kind of faith.

There is no God beside Him; He is Jesus Christ, father in creation, son in redemption, and Holy Ghost in regeneration; Revelation states, "One sat on the throne."  No one in earth or the universe can compare to Him; no entity or human is as wise; no computer presently or in the future can surpass His knowledge; and to prove all of this, He's coming back!

It stands to reason then, that if we want to be rescued, the firemen are good; the EMT's are great; and all the others who spend their lives giving "life" to another are wonderful, but I'm going for the "top," the One who holds the world in His hands and who said, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?"  Proverbs 30:4 says, "Who has gone up to heaven and come down?  Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands?  Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak?

That settles it for me; my rescuer has hair white like wool; his eyes are as a flame of fire and His feet are like burnished bronze. He walks on water, sleeps when it storms, heals on Sunday, throws fits in the Temple, humiliates the devil, multiplies food, and grills fish on the seashore.  He's my kind of Man, Jesus Christ, my Lord!
                                                                                                                                                            By Sheryl Fowler

(Visit promiselandchurch.net; theexperience238.com.  PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, "Austin In Love," Pastor Kenneth Phillips) 

Nehemiah 9:19

BETWEEN THE PILLARS

The plight of humans today is knowing what to do next in this desperate unpredictable world of daily chaos.  Even the most level-thinking of economists and meticulous planners are shaking their brilliant heads and offering wary suppositions of our bewailing future.  But, for those whose roots are planted in our Lord Jesus Christ, we have a foundation established for us; it is a road between two pillars of Leadership and Light. 

     "Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud

        departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night,

        to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go."

The scripture says the "cloud" was to 'lead' the way and the "fire" was to 'light' the night.  The cloud represents a covering, a leader or anointed Pastor, guiding our paths by the hand of God.  The fire represents the Holy Ghost, or Spirit of God, which brings us into all truth.  

This day was predicted in Ezekiel, Matthew, Revelation, and others, and along with the prophetic premonition came a lifeline for God's people.  He gave us a cloud, a covering, or Pastor to lead us; and He gave us fire, the Holy Ghost, to light our way.  We have been supplied with two sustaining Pillars to protect, enlighten, and steady us down the treacherous road of the last days. 

We must "endure" to the end to be saved (Matthew 24:13); the best way to endure is to respect the "boundaries."  You say, "I don't like to be fenced in."  Hey, "everything," absolutely everything, has boundaries: oceans, continents, ozones, galaxies, social networks, morals, the Garden of Eden, the States, the cow pasture, the finish line?  So, like it or not, sir and madam; you're slap-pat, as the old-timer used to say, fenced in!  

People, in all of our wanting, want most of all to feel safe.  God provided for that.  The Book of Psalms is full of melodious whispers of peaceful word carresses to comfort our every trial and terror.  But, more than that, when we are filled with the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Almighty God, we have an ever-present help in times of trouble.  The Lord has gone before us to pave our way and provide for us, and He knows the horrors facing us today.  All He asks of us is that we honor the boundaries; we need our "cloud or covering," our Pastor to lead us; and we need the "fire or Holy Ghost" to light this "night" era.  It just boils down to staying focused on the "road;" the Bible is our roadmap in the middle of those columns, and with our "leader" and our "light;" we should have no trouble at all remaining "Between the Pillars."

                                                                                                                                                    By Sheryl Fowler

(Visit promiselandchurch.net; theexperience238.com.  PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, "Austin In Love," Pastor Kenneth Phillips)  

Joel 2:28

MOMENTUM OF ECSTASY

The world is preparing for the greatest phenomenon ever observed in the history of the planet; it's more shocking than a meteor crash, more astounding than an unsustained racing comet, more exciting than a shooting star; it's mysterious, profound and glorious; it is a "Momentum of Ecstasy."

The Book of Joel describes it best, "And it will come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions..." Imagine the picture, everyone around you with their arms raised toward heaven and speaking in a heavenly language they never learned, while an aura of ethereal glory resonates upon their faces. It's called "Joy unspeakable and full of Glory!"

What would be the purpose of this, some of you might ask? The answer is to save mankind. To be filled with the Spirit of God is the most beautiful of all of life's experiences. The human body, mind and spirit, suddenly are engulfed with unearthly "power and love" in one moment. Those who have been delivered of drugs say it is greater than any drug, mightier than any false stimulant, and it does not leave you "down" when it's over. In fact, the trees look greener; the sky seems bluer; the air smells fresher; and your spirit flies with glee! Ah, it's a restoration of innocence to the corrupt and sinful soul.

The earth is reeling and rocking with earthquakes, hurricanes, unseasonable weather of all sorts, riots, war, instability of Nations, uncertainty of economies, and we wonder every day what other terrible news will face us with each new dawn. So, it's not at all surprising that human beings of all countries and creeds would find themselves looking Up. The world is groaning for relief, for peace, for solace of mind, heart, soul and spirit, and it's coming!

The momentum is building in desire for help from above. We find our hearts crying "Rain, Lord," Rain down Your Power, Rain down Your Glory, Rain down Your Joy, Rain! Those who know; those who are closest to the God of heaven and earth, feel the coming flood, the coming deluge, the coming storm, only this storm is not perilous, threatening, hurtful, or destructive; it's almost more than a human body can take. It's the equivalent of a roller coaster ride, a parachute jump, a stance under a waterfall, a whiff of garden roses, and a taste of tantalizing dessert, all at once. It builds and bursts into what is known as the Spirit of the departed One, Jesus Christ our Lord; the "Holy Ghost...Ecstasy!"

(Visit promiselandchurch.net.  PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas)

  
                                                                                                   
            CALL OF THE WILD

Some would call our Lord, Jesus Christ, "wild."  One definition of wild is "unconventional, exciting, and slightly irrational."  Sounds like the God we serve, doesn't it?  The things God asked His Biblical Prophets to do were very irrational to our seemingly sensible minds.

God asked Ezekiel to eat a scroll , a book which would represent eating the Word of God, and to then go to deliver a message to Israel.  He also asked him to lie on his left side for 390 days and on his right side for 40 more days to represent the number of years Israel and Judah would be punished.  Ezekiel was also asked to preach to a valley of dry bones so that they would live.  Jeremiah was asked to construct a yolk with straps to wear around his neck to represent the yolk of bondage around the neck of Israel.  Then, there was Isaiah, whom he told to walk around naked for three years, which signified the terrible troubles He would bring upon Egypt and Ethiopia.  His Prophets had to have a "wild" side to yield to such "irrational" demands.  But then, true Prophets always seem to think like the God who anointed them.

God loves the so-called fearless untouchables of this life, because when they are converted, that "wild" streak is used for God.  Their natures have been changed, but the driving force of their DNA is still there.  That hate and greed is now love and benevolence to those they had used and exploited.  That wanderlust and loose morality of the "biker" is now a saved, biking, traveling Word-focused missionary.

What does God require of us, but to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly before Him, but He searches for some who will seek His face, obey His Will, and step out without knowing where the foot will land.  That's tough.  Faith really is "wild!" Dip seven times in a muddy, sickening swamp-like river and you will be healed!  Bake your last cake for the Prophet and you will live!  Cast your net on the other side, sing while you're in prison, go to a street called Straight, wait in the Upper Room until you be endued from on high, step into the stream when the Angel troubles the waters, climb a tree blind man and wait till the Master goes by, tear off the roof and lower him down on a stretcher, and so goes faith, on and on and on.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.  He loves your uniqueness; He loves your spontaneity; He loves your interests and special talents; He loves your desire for the ocean, the forest, the archeology pits, the foreign lands, the science lab; He loves everything about you; He loves you! 

Over the years, some have said they do not want to come to Jesus, because they fear He would change them.  And, He would, but that very special "you" He will not change.  He created you different than anyone else in the world and He is very happy about that.  So, that very unique person that you are has a marked slot in His kingdom with your name on it.  The things you "do and are" can be exciting; there are times you may seem slightly irrational in doing the work of the Lord; and there are ideas you may have that are unconventional, but more than likely you fit right in with God's own qualities, and you could be ripe for a little something that the Lord might refer to as the "Call of the Wild."

By Sheryl Fowler

(Visit promiselandchurch.net.  PromiseLand Church, Austin, Tx)                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

    

                                      

                  

~ ~     A MAN WITH A PLAN     ~ ~
    
It started in the Garden of Eden, a place of peace and of infinite and glorious beauty, designed for God's dusty creations, man and woman.  Our Lord God envisioned a life of  joy and love for these two as they frollicked among the lush flora of an immaculate paradise.  He soon saw the fickleness and egotistical wills of His creation and His "Will" took a detour which would hinder His plan by thousands of years. 

Man and woman were banned from Eden to live and toil all of their days in a dying, reeling, stormy, riotous world.  On melancholy days, it seemed they could sense a whiff of the tantalizing aromas from the Angel-guarded home from which they were banned.  If they could just go back and erase the sin.  Eve rued the day she fell for the beguiling powers of the now ground-hugging slithering snake.  Adam blamed Eve and some days when his longing for the Garden overwhelmed him, he could not even look at her.  They had stumbled from a dream world and crashed into working, slaving reality.

God in the flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord, is patient beyond comprehension.  Thousands of years flew by and as He pondered it all, He chronicled the events very methodically.  There was Noah and the Ark, destruction of all mankind, "because of Sin," with only those few saved in the boat.  Oh, then there was Moses, his voice screaming "let my people go;" he had this quenchless hunger that caused him to climb a mountain and sit in an aerie mist to receive the tablets of Commandments written by the finger of God.  All of this was to salvage a desert-weary, wandering people who had angered the face of God, "because of Sin."  Later came Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed in disdain "because of Sin."  The years flew by with little change and Kings were banished to the fields to eat grass like animals, "because of  Sin;" King David lost his love child, and fell on his face in the temple to kiss the Son lest He be angry, all "because of Sin." Down through the years, humans suffered over and over, a pattern of disobedience and rampant revelry "because of Sin."  But, hope reigns eternal, for God is a Man with a Plan.

In the book of Matthew, the Lord said, "And as it was in days of Noah, so shall it also be in the days of the Son of man," and the Bible goes on to say that people were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in the marriage; then the flood came and destroyed them all, "because of Sin."  The circle always comes back to judgment, "because of Sin."

This generation has come to the end of the dilemma.  We are seeing wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes in divers places, hatred and striving, strange weather patterns, wonders in the heavens and in the earth, with the looming threat of total destruction; why?  It's the age-old problem, "because of Sin."  There will be a judgment, a long and painful seven-year tribulation, a final cleansing of God's beloved earth in order to set things right.  God desires to erase all the carnage, allow the scented foliage to bloom, and peek through the lattice to observe an innocent creation one more time. 

"And I John saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."  Revelation 21:2.  There will come an ordained period of a thousand years of peace, stated in Revelation 20; the lamb will lay down with the lion and we will study war no more.  The journey has brought us full circle, from Genesis to Revelation, from the Garden of Eden "BACK" to the Garden of Eden again!  God never leaves anything undone; man does not have the final say.  It was a Garden He intended for His creation and a Garden He shall have! 
Jesus Christ, our Lord, a Man with a Plan!
                                                                                                                                                               By Sheryl Fowler

(Visit promiselandchurch.net.  PromiseLand Church, Austin, Tx)

   

                                          

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

    ~    FROM GORY TO GLORY    ~

An anonymous writer penned, "Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into Glory.."  One definition of Glory is "astounding beauty."  Our world has embarked upon a very "gory" era, a time involving much bloodshed.

The Nations are fighting from within to obtain the freedoms they see "without."  They suddenly realize there is a world outside their deprived existence, which is worth the fight to obtain.  From where they stand, America appears to be a place of beauty, at least formidably speaking, regarding freedom.  People are bleeding and dying in the streets for something we happen to be "losing" every day in America, Freedom, and it's slipping away before our very eyes.

We perceive that the government, or those in political office are taking away our freedoms, but that's not the case in its entirety.  The Bible says, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder..."  Isaiah 9:6.  Everything occurring before us today is preordained by Almighty God, Jesus Christ, our Lord.  We need only to read the books of Ezekiel, Matthew, Revelation, and others as confirmation. 

This generation will see the coming of the Lord, the Rapture of the church, I Corinthians 15:52 along with I Thessalonians 4:16.  But, what must the Bride endure before that day comes?  Will the church doors be locked?  Will Americans take to the streets in rioting and fighting for freedom?  Will Christians die?  Will America no longer be America, but suddenly under a European rule?  Will we fight from within for something that never existed without, but that WE lost?  That could never happen in America, you say.  It is even at our doorstep.

Who is orchestrating all of this chaos?  It is a fulfillment of prophecy.  The government is on "His" shoulder, our Lord Jesus Christ; God sets up and tears down (Psalm 75:7); nothing occurs unless God allows it.  It is the Lord's desire to see all men saved and come to repentance, I Timothy 2:4.  Many do not turn to God until they have nowhere else to turn, and this is what God is counting on.  It has always been His desire that men live peaceably, but even from the beginning that has not been so; the wills of men tend to delay and deter the will of Almighty God. 

"Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into Glory..."  A beautiful statement, isn't it?  How can blood, terror, war, and hate become Glory?  It becomes an honorable precious thing when the Gory metamorphically becomes Glory.  It's called from a soul to a "saint."

                                                                                By Sheryl Fowler

(Visit promiselandchurch.net.  PromiseLand Church, Austin, Tx) 

                   
           PASTURE MENTALITY

We have all experienced the distant persona of the dreamy depth of one with a "pasture mentality."  They seem to be staring into the wild blue yonder while we desperately strive to converse with them.  They give aloof answers to our queries with unimpressive ums while rubbing their stalwart, set chins.  It's hard enough to speak with one who is uninterested, but this pasture sort appears to not even be in the room, even as their dreaming, still body looms before us.  But, maybe we should take another look at these contemplative people to see what is really going on behind those blank, staring eyes.

Einstein and Edison were "pasture" types.  What do you mean by "pasture" types, you ask?  Pasture types are thinkers, creators, and inventors.  King David spent all of his early days tending the sheep in the dark of the nights, staring at the stars, strumming his harp, singing his songs, and composing writings that baffle even the God of heaven.  All of this occurred in the pasture, a lonely, still, breezy place where only the twinkling stars and the hazy moon dwell, along with some woolly wandering sheep.  Ah, the pasture!  It's a place where few like to go; it's smelly, itchy, dark, and gloomy, but it's a canyon of depth and a palace of plenty in the realm of universal mystery and heavenly insight.

Where would we be without the dreamers, the diggers, the seekers and the discoverers.  Somebody's got to dream it, see it, feel it, imbibe it before It Is!  And, it seems to happen with those who wander into the pasture, stumble into the desert, or sit on a shore engrossed in a vast never-ending ocean.  Anywhere can be a "pasture mentality;"  it happens in the mind, in the longing, delving spirit, in the one who moves away from the revelry of the crowd.

King David's depth happened in a pasture, and he stole the heart of Almighty God, because he observed creation from the secret places of his soul.  He saw and felt the most profound intricacies of life by doing one thing, looking Up.  We miss a lot of things in life by never looking up; we overlook the obvious flutter of the white dove above our heads, as we disgustedly stare at the snakes in the dirt.  There is a definite holiness involved in the posture of stillness, sitting at the feet of our Lord, and waiting for His impressions, His voice and direction in the solitude of looking Up. 

Oh, David, you taught us a valuable lesson, when your longing for the pasture caused you to open the terrace doors and step out onto the rooftop.  You traded glory for evil when you looked down on a bathing woman, instead of looking UP to the God who inspired you.  All of your whispers of undeniable strength in the beauty of your words, the giant of a man that you had become through your hunger for wisdom, and the purity of your very soul faded in the fleeting of a moment. 
David, you lost your "Pasture Mentality."
                                                                                                                                                        By Sheryl Fowler

(Visit promiselandchurch.net.  PromiseLand Church, Austin, Tx)

                    
                A Valentine For Jesus

Today, from coast to coast, the candy, flowers, love notes and cards are flowing in abundance.  It's wonderful to see, but what about the One who gave the greatest Love of all, Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Where are His flowers, candy, and cards?  We can't give Him candy and flowers, as such, but we can give Him a heartfelt Love Note, so here it is!

Dear Jesus:  In the saddest and most hurtful times of my life, You whispered sweet peace and You sent the brush of angels' wings to caress my face.  When the world was falling down around me, with health problems and troubles so terrible that even a burly club bouncer would cry, You told me to sing!  Sing, imagine that? I had a restricting respiratory infection; I had hurt my back and was in unbearable pain.  If that wasn't enough, we were going before Grand Jury trials every day to prosecute someone who had criminally hurt my family.  And, You said to SING that incredible chorus, "This is the day that the Lord hath made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it."   As bad as things were, I struggled and mustered the strength to sing that song and You know what? It lifted my spirit!  You have always been there for me, Jesus, since the night I received Your Spirit at the World of Pentecost on 51st Street in Austin, Texas, on March 2, 1977.  You've carried me through tragedy, terror and despair; You've been my Joy, my love and yes, my husband.  You have stood up for me, protected me, loved me, sheltered me, and made me feel so safe, just like a good husband would do.  I love You, Jesus, and I will spend all of my days loving You.  I long to see Your face, to kneel at Your feet, to whisper sweet nothings in "Your" ear.  My fervent prayer, my dear Lord, is that the whole world will love You and serve You.  Oh, the Joy they are missing.  Just the fragrance of Your presence, the beauty of Your whispers, the ecstasy of Your touch, are so beyond description that I fret to find the words to convey the essence of You.  If they could just know You, feel Your love, and experience Your Spirit, they would be forever changed and they would experience the "Wonder" of their entire existence.  So, Lord Jesus, this is my Valentine to You today, sent with all my love to the Love of my life, and not just for today but forever and ever. 
I'm Yours! Love, Sheryl

(Visit promiselandchurch.net.  PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas)

                               
                         LOVE DIES

What a way to commemorate Valentine's Day, Love Dies?  Couples who have been married 50 or 60 years know what I'm talking about.  Dedicated Pastors know what I'm talking about.  Jesus Christ, our Lord, knows what I'm talking about.  Love Dies. 

Real love denies itself to prefer another.  Real love sacrifices its own desires to bless someone else.  Our service men and women perform real love and they die to themselves and their own families for our freedom, and some of them have taken it to the ultimate and died physically.  We could never be thankful enough. 

Treating people fairly and justly; being merciful to those who don't deserve it; and humbling ourselves before a mighty God are all a dying love.  How can we love someone who doesn't deserve it?  Why should we pray for the souls of cruel dictators?  What does it benefit us to clean out our pantries to feed a homeless one?  All of these are legitimate questions, and the answer is "Love Dies."  Love decreases our ego and increases the peace in another soul.

There are multitudes of lonely people on Valentine's Day, people with no spouse, soldiers away from home, orphans with no parents, lost souls with no Savior, and the disheartened with no hope.  When we forsake ourselves, we die out to the very thing that plagues our fighting, hate-filled, rioting world, and we suddenly lift the spirit of an entire planet called Earth.  And, it's done One by One.

Happy Valentine's Day, and I say "let SELF Die;"  in dying out to ourselves, we promote real Love and the greatest thing of all, Life in another soul!
                                                                                   
                                                                                         By Sheryl Fowler
(Visit promiselandchurch.net; PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas)

A Room With A View

     It occurred in Acts Chapter 2; they were all with one accord, in one mind, assembled in an upper room just waiting.  They, the mother of Jesus, the Apostles and others, 120 of them waiting to be endued with "Power" from on high as promised.  Who wouldn't want that?  Power is an enticing word; kings seek it, rulers long for it; politicians sometimes finagle flashy words to achieve it; and many of the rich spend their lives entering deal after deal for just the "taste of it."  But, this Power, spoken of by Jesus, was to come from on high.  It was the "Ghost" or "Spirit" of the departed One, Jesus Christ, and the people who gathered to receive it were all praying, thinking, seeking, with the same perspective; they were all looking up with the same desire and the same point of view.

     The Power, after many days, came, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  They spoke with other tongues as the Spirit gave the utterance.  It was such a miraculous, mysterious and marvelous spectacle that those observing thought the receivers were drunk.  And they were, but not as you suppose.  The Spirit of God, like the Glory of God is an ecstacy of the soul, a supernatural joy so profound that it does often leave one staggering.  The Bible states that it's so incredible that the angels desire to look into it.  Why should we want it, seek it and desire it?  The Word states that it is that Spirit in you which will raise your body when the Rapture occurs.  Part of walking humbly before God is to be submissive to His Will and when the people asked what they should do, they were commanded in Acts 2:38 to receive the Holy Ghost and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ.

     What does the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, do for you?  It gives you insight, hindsight and foresight; it's joy unspeakable and full of glory; it leads and guides us into all truth.  It is essential to salvation and a credential of illumination!
 
     Oh what a Happy Day that was, when a bunch of hungry people came together for one purpose and one goal.  They had a united "mindset" of victory and they knew Jesus kept His promises.  Yes, I would say that upper room was a room with a View!