Ephesians 5:14

 Christ Shall Give Thee Light

"Awake" Christians, everywhere, and the Lord Jesus Christ shall give thee light!  The greatest time for the Church of the living God is Now!  When times seem the darkest are when the light from the Lord will be the brightest.  "We seek Your Glory, Lord; we seek Your face; shine upon us that we may "lighten" Your world!"  Amen and Amen!

   

       "Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest,

       and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give

thee light."

(Ephesians 5:14)

The skies are billowing and the storms are raging, but the One who watches is moving Nations, stirring States, corralling countries, and all the while, the breath of God swirls in His Church.  Why is the whole earth in turmoil?  There is a great "Awakening" about to occur!  Who will dispel the darkness?  The Church of the living God, the Lord Jesus Christ!  Deuteronomy 11:14 states, "That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that they mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thy oil."  

 

    "The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse

of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and

to bless all the work of your hands.  You will lend to

many nations but will borrow from none."

(Deuteronomy 28:12)

Rain, Lord, Reign!  We stand on His promises; we expect them, anticipate them, and praise Him for them.  The bride has become pregnant with purpose, and multiplication is her goal.  The light of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ will shine brighter and brighter as we march in the "rain," gathering the sheaves, pouring out the Word, healing the sick, praying through the hungry, baptizing the ready, and blessing the ungodly.  We're dancing in the rain, praising Him for His power, shining under His rays  ... we're "Awake," aroused, acclimating, and announcing the coming of our King, because we feel it!  The atmospheric pressure has a heavenly wind moving amid and around us from the breath of Almighty God as He stirs His creation for the final showdown.  

"Surely the arm of the LORD is not too 

short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear."

(Isaiah 59:1)

 As His Church rises up, so rises up the Lord, in His power, His mercy, and His love.  His Word will glow with the light of truth, as it is planted in searching hearts.  "Come, O Lord, and light our pathway; move in the hearts of souls, grant us Your wisdom, enlighten and deepen our minds, lead us in the pure paths of Your righteousness, garner the knowledge of Your kingdom and fill us to overflowing; let us shine as the noonday sun on a dark and fearful world; we pray!"  

God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, Joel 2:28; there shall be a rumbling louder than the storms of weather; it will be all of creation speaking in those mighty heavenly languages they never learned, as the Spirit of God gives them utterance.  The Glory of God will descend like waterfalls of joy, pouring from open heavens of splendor!  All of creation groans for the day; the earth verily is opening up longing to be filled; even the animals are restless; there is war in the heavenlies as Angels subdue the enemy for the grand outpouring; we look up to catch the rays ... the light before the rain, the rain before the "bow," the bow before the catching away in the clouds, and catching away before the white horse and Rider, Jesus Christ our Lord!

Rejoice all ye people; lift up your weary heads; raise your arms in victory; shout with a voice of triumph; as earth is "Awakened," all of heaven leans over the bannisters encouraging us on, because they know a huge welcoming is coming; all is being made ready for the Bride above all brides, the redeemed of the Lord; those upon whom Jesus Christ has shined His light!

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and

the glory of the LORD rises upon you."

(Isaiah 60:1)

                                                                                                                                        By Sheryl Fowler

                                                  (Visit Promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

                                             PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

"YOUR GIFT"

"Your Gift"

As the oyster holds the gem, so dwells

a gift of excellence in You

It’s hidden in a shell of protection,

stopping your pursuit

You’ve harbored it so long, it seems

quite safe and buried

But this talent has grown beyond its shell,

where it’s ever been carried

The radiant sheen and misty glow

are sending out their rays

And those all around are noticing

the display

It’s time for your gift to emerge

as a glistening ivory pearl

And bless and confound this earth,

to influence your world!

                                                                                                                                                                         By Sheryl Fowler

                                         (Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.
                                     PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

Zechariah 9:14

ARROWS LIKE LIGHTNING

"And the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south."  (Zechariah 9:14)  Barnes' notes on the Bible states it perfectly, "It is as if he would say, When they go forth and preach everywhere, the Lord shall work with them and confirm the word with signs following."  (Mark 16:20)  Barnes further states, Habakkuk directly calls the lightnings the arrows of God, "at the light of thine arrows they went."  

                                                       

                                                     "He shot his arrows and scattered {the enemies},

 great bolts of lightning and routed them." 

 (Psalm 18:14)

Gill's exposition of the Bible says it like this, "and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: meaning the gospel, and the swift progress of it, as well as the light it communicates, and the glory that goes along with it, and the efficacy of it."  Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God {is} quick, and powerful, sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and {is} a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."                         

                                                             

        

         "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may

         be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

       (Ephesians 6:11)

We've been taught many times that we should put on the full armour of God, which includes the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with readiness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit.  What have we to fear, when we have a God who has weapons greater than tanks, and defeats the efforts of the enemy swiftly and completely; He's given us all we need.  God is our source; the Word is our sword; the warring angels protect us; and the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.  (2 Corinthians 10:4)     

We must make our calling and election sure by being filled with His Spirit, baptized in His name, obeying His Word, and then we "GO," like appointed, anointed arrows sent in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! 

One thing about arrows  ...  they must hit the target!

                    

                                                                                                                                                                                   By Sheryl Fowler

                                             (Visit Promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

                                                 PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

John 9:4

HARVEST TIME!

It's time to gather the crops!  Even so-called secular people are talking more and more about "the end of the world" and religious terms such as the "Rapture."  And, the Word of God is becoming every day conversation, when issues like "one-world currency" and the fact that many nations are now  "leaderless," are the topics of the 6:00 o'clock News.  It sounds a whole lot like we have approached God's favorite season, "Harvest Time."

"I must work the works of him that sent me,

while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work."

(John 9:4)

The hope of the world lies in the hands, feet and voices of God's bride.  We must bid them to the wedding, Jesus said in Matthew 22:9, "Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage."  And, Oh what a wedding!  The bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, anxiously anticipates receiving His bride, His Church, unto Himself.  There are lonely, desperate, lost people on every street corner, under bridges, in mansions, in Congress, stretching across foreign lands, in every Nation, and in the deepest jungle tribal areas, who know not that they "will be" among the bride of Christ.  No one is too rich, too poor, or too evil that the love of Jesus Christ does not long to touch.  God knows the hearts, and those that we may think are too far gone, may be the next Paul of this generation.  Who can fathom the infinite, far-reaching, depth of love ruminating in the aching, longing heart of Almighty God?  

                                            

 "And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom

when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto {them},

and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly."

(Acts 18:26)

In "harvest time," the truth is unlocked in people who are ready to listen; they have come to the end of their roads; they want the truth.  There comes a time in the honest-hearted person's life when they want to be sure that they are ready for heaven.  When the harvest is "white on the fields," it speaks to me of purity and the actual meaning of the word is "free of contaminants."  After repentance, we want the whole truth, the full truth, and nothing but the truth!  Jesus Christ said, "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No man cometh unto the Father (the eternal Spirit) but by me." (John 14:6)  Come humbly, every Nation, every soul, every precious created life and hear:  The Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior and eternal God for all mankind!

                                           "So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the
                                              people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding
                                                                            hall was filled with guests."
                                                                                   (Matthew 22:10)

The marriage supper of the Lamb will be the grandest, most elaborate banquet ever presented, with people from all Nations, all kindreds, and tongues, who came together in One Lord, One Faith, and One Baptism (Ephesians 4:5; Acts 2, Acts 10 and Acts 19) to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; and now they dine in heaven's portals as the Bride of Christ the Lord!  It was all because, one by one, they rose to "glean" one more time, and now the dining table in paradise seats God's favorite season, the "Harvest." 
   

                                                                                               By Sheryl Fowler

                              (Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

                           PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

Matthew 28:6

                                 "HE'S ALIVE!"                                 

                                      
       

The Lord Jesus Christ lives!  From the portals of heaven's galaxies to a splintered wooden cross, to death's lonely tomb, and back to heaven's palatial gates; it was a blood-bought, heaven-sent, creation-redeeming journey for the salvation of all mankind!  Every inhabitant of planet earth should shout Hallelujah to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; He's Alive!
                                                                   
                                               "He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.

         Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

      (Matthew 28:6)

Jesus Christ, the Lord of all Creation,

the Mighty God and King

Came to ransom souls; it was His nature

and His proclivity

Giving was His genre, from the spoken word

of light and earth

So, it was fitting that He would come, in

the form of natural birth

But that was not the end; He had a plan

to suffer, and to die

It was the cruelest of pain and torture,

none could deny

His blood was promised and given, for

all men's redemption

It was a sacrifice of Glory, and none could 

entail prevention 

For the first time, the Angels were held

 from the Holy One

This He must do alone; only He could pay 

the price to atone 

He died and was buried, amidst the torment, 

the scowling, and the curses

It was fulfillment of prophecy, and the Bible's

written verses

But He knew Joy comes in the morning, the 

third day ends His demise

The Lord of Lords would live, to welcome His 

own created sunrise

The cross didn't kill Him; He died of 

His own accord

That all would know and love Him, and 

one day call Him Lord

He made a way for all humanity to live 

eternally, and to survive

He conquered death, Hell and the grave;

Jesus Christ is alive!

                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                             By Sheryl Fowler

                                        (Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.
                                   PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)



Revelation 1:18

I Hold The Keys!

The Lord Jesus Christ was very busy the three days after His death.  He descended into Hell to take the keys of Death, Hell and the grave!  Jesus Christ never leaves anything undone; He ascends, descends, appears, disappears, walks through walls, walks on water; He's everywhere, all the time; He's God!  

                                                     "{I am} he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold,

       I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the

     keys of hell and of death."

  (Revelation 1:18)

The Lord Jesus Christ was moving and subduing in the Spirit, while His physical body lay in a tomb.  Satan thought he had won, until Jesus Christ burst through Hell's flames and confiscated the keys to death, Hell and the grave!  Our Lord Jesus Christ finishes everything.  The future path for His beloved creation would always rest in the nail-scarred hands of Almighty God.  It makes sense, then, for mankind to follow the Man with the keys!  The Bible states in I Samuel 2:6, "The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up." 

Our Lord and Savior holds the keys to death and Hell and He holds the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  We have innumerable Angels at our disposal; He has given us the power to bind and loose.  Our Lord Jesus Christ died and rose again that we might have life, that means life in earth and life eternally.  Death for the Christian is just a change in location! 

"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;

whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,

and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

(Matthew 16:19)



The Lord Jesus Christ is the Man with a Plan!  He holds life, death, hope, joy, peace, love, heaven and hell in His hands.  The Book of Revelation 3:7 says, "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David.  What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open."    

We have an everlasting promise that if we obey the Word of God, repent and be filled with His Spirit, and walk according to His Holy, righteous commandments, we shall live forever in a Holy place, a place where there are no tears, a place of peace and joy; we will study war no more.  We will dwell forever throughout eternity with The "Key Man."

                           "For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he  

                                        cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him."

                                                                                   (Romans 6:9)

                                                                                                                                                                   By Sheryl Fowler

                                      (Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

   PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

                          

John 19:30

IT IS FINISHED!

The word 'finished' actually means "done well, produced and completed with skill and professionalism."  Our Lord Jesus Christ completed the task with ultimate excellence, and what a "task."  It was not a task, but the extreme and final "Sacrifice" for a world with still a multitude of people who know not and care not what He did, but It Is Finished means it is completed, even for those who do not see the end of themselves  ... which is salvation!  Praise the Lord of Lords!  

  

                                                            View from the Cross

Jesus Christ looked down on the crowd, no doubt filled with emotions, love for the women who were so close to Him, the three Mary's, and love for those spewing and cursing Him with hatred in their hearts.  What was He saying within Himself, between gasps of breath and pain such as none of us has ever known?  We know He was full of forgiveness, full of compassion, and every gush of blood from His sinless body exuded love. He was God in the flesh, dying for the flesh He created, bleeding for that abhorrent flesh, yet screaming through the whispers of His mind, "Don't you know who I am; don't you know why I'm doing this; don't you know how much I love you?"  They didn't know; they didn't care, but all the while, the honest hearted of them felt a qualm of guilt, a sickening shame, and a pressing impulse to get Him down from that cross, to wipe that blood away ... that blood  ... the thought of that blood was eating at them like a flesh-hungry leprosy ... they couldn't bear to see that blood ...  It was the blood of God who became man to redeem man unto Himself. 

                                                      "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud 

                                                                         voice, he gave up his spirit." 

                                                                                 (Matthew 27:50)

                                                                          

"It is finished;" the most profound three words in the history of the world.  The plan from the mind of Almighty God from the beginning of time had finally come to an end.  But, the end was the beginning!  Mankind had a Hope, for the first time, from the inception of man's creation.  Fallen man had been bought with a price, redeemed by the blood of His Creator, had an eternal destiny laid before him for the taking, and all he had to do was match those three words, "It is finished," with his own three words, "Please forgive me."  

                                  "Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn

                                                         and finely twisted linen ..." (Exodus 26:31)

                                             "And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain,

                                               from the top to the bottom and the earth did quake,

                                                                               and the rocks rent." 

                                                                                 (Matthew 27:51)

From the building of the tabernacle in the old Testament, God longed that all men would feel His presence and know His Spirit.  Before the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, only the Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, but now we all have access to the Spirit and presence of the God of eternity.  When Jesus Christ died on the cross, the veil enclosing the Holy of Holies was rent from top to bottom, to let us in.  We can now enter that Holy place and be filled with His Spirit (Acts 2; Acts 10; Acts 19), baptized in His name, and live continually "behind the veil."  When He said "It is finished;" He meant death, Hell and the grave will not conquer us; He ransomed our eternal existence and we shall live with our mighty Savior forevermore!  After we meet Him in the air, in just a little while, He will come back riding on a white horse with His saints following.  "It Is Finished," but it's not over, He'll be back!

                                 "It Is Finished"

                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                      By Sheryl Fowler

                                  (Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

                              PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

                                                           

John 2:22

HE IS RISEN!

The Lord Jesus Christ is alive!  The grave couldn't hold Him; the tomb didn't defeat Him; death could not destroy Him ... He lives!  Praise the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, the God of all creation, the omnipotent Holy One of Israel, the soon coming King, the Almighty God, the risen One, our Lord Jesus Christ!

                                                                   

"Did not the Christ have to suffer these things

and then enter his glory?"

(Luke 24:26)

It should have been you and me on that cross, but Jesus Christ our Lord, took our place.  Salvation for the world was His motive; redemption was His impetus; blood, pain and suffering were the cost; atonement was His reparation; and Love was His passion.  God so loved the world ... He gave everything He had to the final extremity of death itself.  But, He IS God over everything ... He created the grave, and then He conquered it!  

 He said to them, "This is what I told you while I

was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled

that is written about me in the Law of Moses,

the Prophets and the Psalms."

(Luke 24:44)

 God IS; He was from the beginning; He remains with no end; He IS!  He cannot be overtaken; He will never cease; He reigns and rules over all forevermore; He IS!  He IS the light dispelling darkness, the calm for the storm, the rainbow for every covenant, the whisper of peace, the depth of the soul, the wisdom of the spirit, the tamer of the flesh, the aroma of holiness; He IS! 

 

                                           "When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples

                                               remembered that he had said this unto them; and they

                                            believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said."

                                                                                      (John 2:22)

The Bible is illuminated and proven before the eyes of all mankind as each day passes.  Scripture lives with the fulfillment of prophecy as the clock ticks away the books and the words with unfailing accuracy.  How do we know Jesus Christ our Lord is alive?  We feel Him in our hearts; we hear Him in our spirits; we see His Word manifested in miracles, signs and wonders; and He is visible in His move within His Church.  He said He would die and rise again and He did; He said we would meet Him in the air and we will; He said He is coming again and He IS!  The bottom line ... you can believe it  ... He IS!

   

                                                                                                                                                                                By Sheryl Fowler

                                     (Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.
                                PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)