(Sunset of the Jetty at Palm Island - a great place to go fishing for squid at nite!)
(If Christ died & stayed dead, then He would currently be extinct. That is non-existant. But (thankfully) He does exist. Death couldn't defeat Him. And the tomb couldn't hold Him...and so we have the reason for HOPE.)Spoke to Jesse the other nite - and things are revving up more than a few notches in Palm - while I am sitting in the comfort of my home typing this blog, Jesse is preaching right now in a 3nite campaign in Palm that started last nite (06/09/08) and concludes tomorrow (08/09/08).
We didnt have much time to talk, but the main gist Jesse wanted to convey is this:
People are the same everywhere. People need Jesus everywhere...and...but wait yes there is more...
......when Christ comes into a person's life, even though we can't see what has and is taking place in that person's emotional and spiritual parts, but the outward expression of JOY cannot be mistaken. It is clearly written all over their faces. The smile. The twinkle in the eyes...their eyes are smiling too. A bright radiance that is simply glowing. Without saying any words, it can be clearly read "Hey! Everybody! Look at me! Can't you see? I got Jesus. You hear me? I GOT JESUS! I GOT HIM! In my heart! Here! Right now! I got Him! And boy oh boy oh boy - I am SO STOKED!!! I can't explain this joy - but no drug, no alcohol, no packet of smokes, no nite out on the town or at a casino can ever or will ever compare to this fulfilling JOY I finally got now. Because of Jesus."
Jesse mentioned about praying for a lady with kidney failure. She was so sick and in pain due to her kidney disfunctions. But something notable happened to her. God met her where she was at in her life. And instantly the pains left. But regardless though, Jesse told her to go to a doctor, and get a doctor's report on the healing in her body. But he also mentioned on the phone that she was one very excited lady, putting it mildly.
There is something about Jesus. The real Christ. Not the cheap imitators that pop-up every so often. But the real message of Jesus Christ. To share the gospel (i.e. the GOOD NEWS) that He, and only He, can impart JOY, PEACE...and LOVE into a person's life.
Healing is one side of the coin. But the other side is HOPE. A HOPE that is so sure that God is with them. That He hears their cries. He hears their prayers. He hears their sobs. And He is more than willing to get His hands dirty when He cleans up their lives. Which is just what Jesus when He came to earth. Compare earth to heaven, where it is so pristine, clean, spotless, immaculate to earth. Dirty. Dusty. Muddy. Mouldy. Sinful. And complete with cockroaches, weevils and mosquitos that can transmit elephantitis and Ross River fever.
...and yet Jesus would actually leave the glory, splendor, pristiness of heaven for dirty, smelly, sinful earth? Why?
Because of His unfathomable love. Something no one can ever get their heads around even if they analyse it from every angle possible from birth to their death at 100 of age. No one will ever be able to understand the love that God so willing wants to impart into lives. To fix it up. To clean it up. To wash it down. To brighten it up. To transform. To change.
And one thing is for sure, no one would ever be able to say that the God of the Bible is a coward. How could He be when He left heaven, for smelly earth knowing completely well why He was coming to earth. To die. On a cross. With spikes & a hammer. With a crown of thorns. With lashes from the latest Roman designed state-of-the-art cat-o-nine tails complete with fragments of bone, glass, rock, and metal to ensure deep gourging out of flesh and sinews.
To know all this...and to still carry it out...willingly...unbelievable...
That is what has been sinking into the lives of many Palm Islanders. And with that life changing transformations are taking place too.
Thanks for the prayers.
:)anneline
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