Luke 7:37, 38

Break The Box





Mary washed the feet of Jesus with her tears, dried them with her hair, and then poured expensive perfume on them from an alabaster box of ointment, the apex of the most humble of all offerings of worship.  This woman had much to be forgiven; therefore, she loved much!

    "And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she

knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an

alabaster box of ointment, and as she stood behind him, at his feet

weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears.  Then she wiped

them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them."

"And he turned toward the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman?  I entered into thine house: thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped {them} with the hairs of her head."  Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."  "You have judged correctly," Jesus said.  Only those for whom the Lord has forgiven bountifully would this act of penitent adoration be deemed appropriate.  The greater the sin, the greater the love; the greater the restoration to innocence, the greater the worship; the greater the touch of mercy, the greater the posture of humility; so are the redeemed who "break the box."  

"... And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume."

 (John 12:3)

We can't kneel and perfume the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ, to exemplify our gratitude for His grace, but our worship is a sweet incense rising as a fragrance to His nostrils.  Its expense is determined by our intensity of worship.  He longs for our whispers back to Him, our sweet word of love and hunger for our Savior, our thirst for more from the One who has already given His all.  He doesn't mind at all that we crave more of Him; He desires it, savors it, and receives it as a valuable anointing when we sit at His feet in prayerful obeisance. 

The One who invented the spectrum of audacious, rich, spectacular, beauty yearns for the lilac and velvety rose attar from the quavering and grasping lips of His creation.  Our worship ascends to Him like the wisps of gentle breezes He breathes with Holy unction into His beloved floundering earth.  Our words of adoration and love rise as an incense of lillies scattered in fields beyond the towering, giant cedars of Lebanon.  The sacrifice of praise we offer when we feel we have nothing to praise about is the fragrance after the rain; the clean and pure aroma of His broken, reaching vessel of honor.  The scent of His molded dust singing refrains of Holy, Holy, Holy, exceeds the smells of all of earth's wonders formed by His own hand.

When I reached a place where I could not pray, a place of perpetual tears, a place where I thought I could not go on, it was then that Jesus Christ, my Lord, said, "Break the Box."  

                                                                                                      By Sheryl Fowler

                                      (Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

                                   PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

Acts 4:4

THEY HEARD ... THEY BELIEVED!

Every house a Church, every street corner a pulpit, every coffee table an altar, every living room a Holy of Holies  ...  SO IS this hour before the Rapture of the Church!  If we tell them; they will hear and they will believe!

"Howbeit many of them which heard the Word believed;

and the number of the men was about five thousand."

We have lived to see the day that people are looking up!  There's one thing about disaster, trouble, war, a broken world, a faltering America, and whirling storms around our questioning heads; it's makes people ... all of us ... call out to The One who is greater than these problems, the Lord Jesus Christ.  And, while we're at it, we might as well join hands with neighbors, friends, foes, and anyone who will "hear," and take them with us to the One who holds all the answers.  

    

                                                      "... And the Lord added to their number daily

              those who were being saved."

             (Acts 2:47)

The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; repentance, baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance, is easy to swallow when one has no other distractions.  Sometimes, life with all its possessions, jobs, and kids has a way of taking our focus away from our Creator.  So, if we happen upon hard times and times when the laws or others, or circumstances, treat us unfairly, which we all happen on those times if we live long enough; we reach a place where we are ready to "hear and believe."  Barnes' Notes on the Bible says it so perfectly, "This was one of the instances (speaking of this period of time in the Book of Acts), which has since been so often repeated, in which persecution is seen to have a tendency to extend and establish the faith which it was designed to destroy."  The bottom line ... "trouble makes us stronger and we believe!"                              

                                                                                 

                                                            "And He (Jesus) said to them, Follow me,

                                                                  and I will make you fishers of men." 

                                                                                   (Matthew 4:19)

We are about to hear the last trump; the clock is ticking for the countdown to the last number, the final soul, to enter the kingdom before the door is shut and the Rapture of the Church occurs.  That last one may be your friend, my friend, your neighbor or my neighbor, your relative or mine, so it's time that we make a way for them that they will step into "newness of life," maybe in your home or mine.  Nobody argues with a personal experience!  We just relate to them what happened to us; the beauty and splendor of being filled with the Spirit of Almighty God; the awesome wonder of going under the waters in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and coming up a new, innocent, "free" creature; the stupendous joy of feeling His presence and hearing His whispers; and His touch, Oh, His touch ... there's nobody like Jesus!  We just tell it like the adventurous incredible novel that it is!  Then, when we stand before the Lord at the throne and He says, "thou good and faithful servant," it will be because of what we did; "they heard ...  they believed."                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                                                                      By Sheryl Fowler

                                 (Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

                              PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

                                      

   



Angels

ANGELS

                                                                                                            

The Lord sends His angels to comfort

and to protect

But they have other duties of which they

never neglect
They engage in war; they take us home,

and they speak

They’re sent with the Lord’s bidding

and His critique

To guide us in knowledge and increase

our wavering faith

Of His never-ending love and His

interventions for our sake

So, dear friend, you have every

reason to sing

For you are ever encompassed by a

multitude of angels’ wings.

                                                                                                                                          By Sheryl Fowler

                                        (Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

                                   PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

Romans 6:4

NEWNESS OF LIFE!

We are approaching Easter and it's a wonderful time to talk about "Resurrection," for you and me.  No matter what we've done in this life, we have a "pardon," provided by our Lord Jesus Christ, and even as He died, was buried and rose again, so can we ... and in doing so, we have Newness of Life!

                                   "Therefore we are buried with Him through baptism

                                                   into death: that like as Christ was raised up from

                                                the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also

                                                                  should walk in newness of life."

When we are baptized in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, we come up out of the water a "new creation."  When I was baptized and received the Holy Ghost on March 2, 1977, I remember thinking that the whole world looked different.  When I stepped outside, the trees were greener; the air was fresher; the stars were brighter; and I felt so clean, so light, and so innocent ... it was so wonderful!  Not only that, as the scripture says, we participate in the Lord's death, burial and resurrection, by our repentance (death), our baptism (His burial), and when we receive the Holy Ghost and speak with other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance (His resurrection). 

     

                  "He (Paul) said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? 

And they said unto him, we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost."  (Acts 19:2)  {In Acts 19:5, they were rebaptized in the name of  the Lord Jesus} "And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues and prophesied."  (Acts 19:6)

 

Being filled with the Spirit of Almighty God is the single most exciting, phenomenal, invigorating thing one can do in this life!  You say, "Well, I believe in Jesus Christ, but I have never spoken in tongues."  There is more for you, and it will thrill you to the depths of your soul!  Those in Acts 19 were believers also, but had not heard about the Holy Ghost, and when Paul told them about it, they wanted it and they received it.  The Bible says the Spirit of God leads us into all truth; sometimes we don't know what to pray, but when we are praying in tongues, our spirits are speaking directly to God's Spirit  ... and the best part?  The enemy does not understand it!

                                      "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that

                                                                        we will also live with Him. 

                                                                                   (Romans 6:8)

Every word in the Bible has a purpose; the Lord Jesus Christ does not waste time, nor words.  So, when we obey His Word, we know we have a place with Him forever, as we continue to walk in humble obedience and repentance in this life in earth.  His directives are sweet to the soul, uplifting to the spirit, and the most sane and reasonable life for the body.  To be restored to innocence is the most profound and awesome experience ever!  There is no sin that is not forgiven, with the exception of blasphemy of the Holy Ghost, and few have gone that far.  (Matthew 12:31)  

                                         "He's the beginning and the ending; the first and the last;

                                                  the soon coming King, the Lord Jesus Christ!

                                                               Jump in   ....   to Newness of Life!

                                                                                                                                                                              By Sheryl Fowler

                                  (Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

                              PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

       





Psalm 78:19

A Table In The Desert

Are you dwelling in a dry, lifeless, undesirable, barren and lonely place  ...  otherwise known as a desert?  Our Lord Jesus Christ specializes in sere, devoid, and uninhabitable places, and He can "set a table in the desert."

  They spoke against God, saying,

"Can God spread a table in the desert?"

The Israelites asked that provocative question of the Lord, even after they had seen Him roll back the waters that they could pass over; they witnessed water gush from a rock; they saw manna fall from heaven; and they watched as they were protected by a cloud by day and a fire by night.  Still, they tempted the Lord, the Psalm says, by asking if God could spread a table in the desert, because they were sick of "manna" and wanted meat. 

We have experienced those places where we wonder where God is and if He knows and sees our needs.  We, like the Israelites, tend to forget the many times He made a way where there was no way. I remember the time groceries were left on my doorstep when noone knew we needed them; and the time the $70.00 in tuition money was found in new bills strewn across the front seat of my car; or how about the time I had just moved and had no food and no money ... I prayed for help and said, "Oh, Lord, if I could just have a steaming cup of coffee right now;" there was an immediate knock on the door with a man standing there with food and a steaming mug of coffee in his hand!  I had moved numerous times and that had never happened before; but, I had never prayed that prayer before.  The Bible says that even before we call, He will answer; this was was a perfect example of that scripture!  We must always remind ourselves of God's loving hand of provision so many times before, when we "hit those dry places." 

                                                             "You prepare a table before me in the

                                                           presence of my enemies.  You anoint my

                                                                  head with oil; my cup overflows."

                                                                                     (Psalm 23:5)

"Preparing a table" speaks of God's providence and favor; the good Shepherd is ever mindful of His sheep; He always takes care of them in spite of, or in the presence of, their enemies.  The anointing of oil is a symbol of gladness and overflowing, as well as it represents the teaching of all things.  Even in times of lack and utter disappointment, we have the oil of gladness, which is the Spirit of the Lord, and for New Testament saints, the table prepared before us also represents the flesh and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, offered to sustain, protect, redeem and cover us, in and through life's deserts.  In James 5:14, the oil is for healing and we're advised, "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord."

                          "And provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them

                                      a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of

                                      mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  

                                   They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for

                                                                         the display of His splendor."

                                                                                     (Isaiah 61:3)

Our deserts can become an oasis through our faith in the Lord and our trust in His provision for us.  He desires that we prosper and be in health, even as our souls prosper.  (3 John 1:2)  The key is to never neglect the soul; we must make sure we have obeyed the Gospel, which is a prospering of the soul.  We must be filled with His Spirit and baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.  (Acts 2, Acts 10, Acts 19)  When our souls prosper, everything else in our lives will prosper, and we can "expect" that God will carry us through the storms and meet our needs.    

Sometimes we feel like the answer will never come; it seems at times that the heavens are closed and our prayers bounce against a dark, cold ceiling.   During those times, we hold our invisible faith in our hand and we do a little something my Pastor has taught us to do for many many years, "take hold of nothing and hold on until it becomes something!" 

                                                                                                                                                                   By Sheryl Fowler

                                    (Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

                               PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

  

 

I Corinthians 13:13

A Thing Called Love

This three-year-old orangutan's parents died and he was so sick and depressed that he would not eat; they thought that surely he would die.  At the same time the orangutan arrived at the zoo's treatment center, an old sick dog arrived.  The two lost souls met and have been inseparable ever since.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. 

But the greatest of these is love."

The orangutan and the old dog are together 24 hours a day in all their activities.  Together, they found that joy and laughter in life, and most especially, the value of friendship.  Our Lord Jesus Christ called us friends and He gave everything He had for us.  He went to the cross willingly; He could have called millions of Angels to His side at any time, but He didn't.  He could have stopped the whippings and the niagara-like flow of His blood, but He didn't.  He could have spoken up in His own defense, but He didn't.  He came to earth as God in the flesh and He came for a purpose to be fulfilled  ...  and He did it! 

      

                                                                       

      "Greater love hath no man than this,

     that a man lay down His life for His friends."

        (John 15:13)  

The Lord Jesus Christ gave us an example of love that some of our wonderful soldiers follow on the battlefield today; they throw themselves in front of the other troops to protect them and many come home missing legs and arms; all we can say is, "there is no greater love than this."  We don't have to be exactly alike to love one another; in fact we can be from one end of the world to the other, and come together in unity for a cause greater than ourselves.  "What is that cause?" you ask.  It is the greatest cause in earth, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  But, we must replace "hate" with "love."  How can we hate someone we do not know?  How can we despise one we have never met, talked with, or even seen, in some cases?  The love of our Lord Jesus Christ transcends oceans, continents, dialects, and every other barrier we put up to stop unity.  

            

                 "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man,

                though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die."

             (Romans 5:7)

How can such broad differences, such diverse customs, such opposing beliefs come together?  That's a two million dollar question, and perhaps only Jesus Christ, our Lord, has the answer.  People come together most often for a common goal, or a common cause; only in this case, there is nothing common about it!  Jesus Christ our Lord did the most "Royal," the most beautiful, the most phenomenal, the most humble and glorious action of all; He gave His life for His friends.  Life is really short, when you think about it; and time in earth seems to be moving faster and faster.  

It is an amazing and powerful thing Jesus Christ did for us, isn't it?  And, He didn't do it just for us, but for the whole world.  He has a boundless depth of love for every Nation, kindred and tongue; His love is North, South, East and West, and keeps going; it encompasses the universe and settles back in a "City" built upon foundations of love.  The Apostles of Jesus Christ died martyrs' deaths because of their love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  

We could learn a little something from Roscoe, the loving three-year-old orangutan and his forever friend!

                                                                                    By Sheryl Fowler

          (Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.  PromiseLand

          Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

                                                                                                                            

  

Revelation 5:8

PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS

Earth limits our access to Almighty God, "except," and it's a great big exception  ...  through Prayer!  We can go around the world in one hour through prayer; we can send supplies to missionaries through prayer; we can heal the sick, move Nations and leaders, change laws, prevent accidents, protect Israel, and send America to its knees, all through God's most treasured asset, the prayers of the Saints!

                                                                 

                   "And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four {and} twenty

                                    elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and

                                          golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints."

What an incredible thought that our prayers are bottled up in heaven!  If you ever wondered, "Does God even hear me?"  Wonder no more; if the Word says it, it is!  Prayer leads us directly into the throne room of our Lord Jesus Christ, where we can sit at His feet and commune with Him for hours.  "Hours?" you say.  It's easy to spend hours with God when we feel we know Him.  To know Him is to be filled with His Spirit (Acts 2 and also Acts 19).  The Lord becomes real within us; we hear Him in the very depths of our spirits; we feel His beautiful presence; and Jesus Christ is forever within us, comforting, guiding, teaching, molding and blessing us. 

Prayer is the greatest privilege of the human being.  It transcends galaxies, ozones, continents, and can even move a person standing right next to us.  It is more powerful than a nuclear explosion; it exhumes the wisdom of the ages, knowledge and understanding; it moves through doors, buildings, and prisons; prayer opens cells, breaks chains, and looses bound spirits.  Prayer is a valuable, highly volatile, serious commodity, but costs only a bended knee, and sometimes not even that ... maybe a screaming whisper!

"Another angel who had a golden censer, came and stood

at the altar.  He was given much incense to offer, with

the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne."

(Revelation 8:3)

Prayer in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ has the authority, the power, the dominion, and the impetus to change the world!  The Bible says it this way, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.  The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."  (James 5:16)

The gateway to heaven eternally is obedience to His Word, with baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the infilling of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit of Almighty God gives the utterance. Finally, that passage to answers, to healings and to miracles, to the salvation of planet earth, is Prayer.  Our prayers are ever captured and saved in a vial at the very throne of God; where else in the universe do "our" words mean so much?  Every word we cry out to God becomes a precious vapor bottled up and saved for unveiling at a monumental time in eternity.  Oh, dear saint, your prayers are not only heard; they are caught, held to the breast of God and preserved forever!  So, whatever you do, pray!

                                                           

                                                                                                                                                                       By Sheryl Fowler

                               (Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com. 

                           PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)