Tag:

Come

O Come!

by TerryLema

The season is upon us!  Everywhere we turn we are invited to partake of food and drink, shopping, partying, and cheer.  Unfortunately for many of us we don’t need the food or drink, we can’t afford to shop, all partying does is accentuate what we have lost or don’t have, and cheer?  Well cheery is definitely not how we are feeling.

How do we celebrate the wonderful meaning of Christmas without being caught up in all the expectations and demands that also accompany the season. I think we must strive to keep it simple. Difficult to do? Certainly! But it is necessary.  The message of the season is Christ—a celebration of the One who came to set us free.

The words of that old carol, “O Come, All Ye Faithful” help us to understand the value of keeping Christmas simple.

“O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant! O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem! Come and behold him, born the King of angels.

 “Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to thee be all glory giv’n! Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

 “O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!”

We are to simply come. We are to see the One who is the Reason for the Season. And we are to adore Him.

We keep our eyes, our thoughts, our desires, our hearts set on “God with Us,” Emmanuel, and Christmas really is very simple.

Come.

0 comment
FacebookEmail

Come!

by TerryLema

Come.  One of the greatest words in the language of the Gospels.  Come, follow me.  Come, you who are weary and burdened.  Let the little children come.  Come (Peter, step out of the boat). Come to the wedding.  Here is the bridegroom, come!

Come is the invitation to approach God, to follow Him as He leads us through this life.

Come is the invitation to greater anointing, ministry, healing, miracles, and breaking of bondages.

Come is the open door into the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Come is the invitation to the half that has never been told.

Come is the invitation to pleasures and joys unspeakable.

All we have to do is come.

Over the year I have watched as people in church on Sundays made that decision.  God gives the invitation to come and people respond.  When they do, God always ministers to them in power and anointing.

Come.  God calls us to come.  Not just to an altar on a Sunday morning, but to His side day by day.  He calls us to talk to Him.  He calls us to follow Him.  He calls us into His presence, to approach Him with confidence as He is our loving Father.

God will never violate our trust, He will never lead us the wrong way, and He will never harm us.  We should respond quickly and with great anticipation every time we hear God whisper, come.

0 comment
FacebookEmail

Come

by TerryLema

I often find that when I choose a Scripture for a daily devotion theme, that verse or theme will come as one of my daily verses within the next few days. When I would do a sermon, that same thing often happened. I would find other pastors using the same theme in their sermons. When the Spirit speaks to the church, His message is always consistent.

Last Sunday night as I was falling asleep, I hear the LORD say, “Come, everyone who is thirsty.”

That, of course, is from Isaiah 55:1: “Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” [HCSB]

And guess which verse appeared in my Monday Morning daily verse email. Yep, Isaiah 55:1.

In Isaiah 55, the Spirit of God sends out an invitation to Israel to return to Him. If they come, they will receive blessings upon blessings. The invitation, however, is not limited to Israel alone. God’s call to come is to “everyone,” with that one qualification – “everyone who is thirsty.”

There is refreshing that you can buy without money and without cost, but you must be thirsty. To be thirsty is to have a consciousness of need. It is to know that you have nothing – that you are poor and destitute. Jesus said it this way, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” [Matthew 11:28 HCSB]

We will not come if we think the things of this world will satisfy us.  We will not come if we will not acknowledge our thirst or need.

Oh, LORD, I am thirsty for the refreshing water of Your Spirit. Fill me, LORD!

0 comment
FacebookEmail

Falling Behind

by TerryLema

Reading in the book of Deuteronomy I came across this verse. “Remember what the Amalekites did to you on the journey after you left Egypt. They met you along the way and attacked all your stragglers from behind when you were tired and weary. They did not fear God.” [Deuteronomy 25:17-18 HCSB]

After reading that I needed to go back and see what the Amalekites did do to the children of Israel after they left Egypt. The attack is described in Exodus 17. It happened at Rephidim.

Exodus 17 begins with the children of Israel camping at Rephidim and finding no water there. Moses, instructed by God, struck the rock and water flowed to nourish them. [vs 1-7]

But, while at Rephidim, the Amalekites attacked. God told Moses to have Joshua command the battle while Moses stood on the hilltop with his staff in his hand. As long as Moses held up the staff, Israel prevailed in the battle, but when he tired and put his hand down, Amalek prevailed. Finally, Aaron and Hur came along side and helped Moses hold up the staff until Israel won. [vs 8-13]

Apparently, the Amalekites struck when Israel was tired and weary and picked off the stragglers. We all get tired and weary at times. It is not a sin to be tired and weary sometimes.

But as believers, we have been invited by our Savior to come to Him when we are tired and weary. He has promised to give us rest for our souls. “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” [Matthew 11:28]

The key word there is “come.” Like all invitations, it is our responsibility to respond and accept Jesus’ invitation. It is our responsibility to “come.”

If we fail to come when we are tired and weary, we might find ourselves picked off like the stragglers at Rephidim.

 

 

0 comment
FacebookEmail