David declares “I sought the Lord, and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears.” Know that the “Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivered them. O taste and see that the Lord is good: Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him.” Ps. 34:7-9. Our Lenten messages began with the Joyful Path, a Path of Trust – these are not mere words, this is our passion, our trust is in the Lord.

We must learn to approach our difficulties with the “Joy” – His Joy! For it is He who has redeemed us! Happiness can easily be short lived, but sincere Jesus’ Joy is Eternal. God had a Path for Jesus, it lead to Gethsemane and Jesus was willing to obey His Father, He considered it a Joy. But with that Joy He had to “give” His life. That is called a “Joyful Sacrifice!” Because He gave His Life, we now can draw Joy from His Sacrifice.

We see this in Jesus Life as He faced the Adverse conditions that the enemy brought against Him. Remember the times that Jesus went alone to Pray. Jesus rose above the Adversity. While we rise above the crisis, or the circumstance, it often exercises our Faith.

It is a time of not only recognizing Jesus Suffering and obedience to His Father, but it is a time of remembering God’s Offering. God’s Offering is sometimes forgotten as we see the suffering of Jesus. God’s Offering was “His Only Begotten Son!”

Pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16

There is often sacrifice in true love! Our society today is full of love – love of the things of this world, lustful love, love for power and praise! The heart of God is still calling for pure love, as in the moment He spoke to Peter: “Lovest Thou Me?” Sacrifice is involved, as in God’s offering of Jesus; Consider the painful sensation in the heart of Abraham when God said to him, offer thy son for a burnt offering. Let us recognize afresh the desire in God’s heart for our love. His desire is not just for words, but action, as we see the day of Jesus return approaching.

I believe the saints of the Gospel of Christ see the signs of our time, but perhaps we fail to sense the urgency of our day. When you study Jesus Life, as we will note in the Message today; He warned them, blessed them, taught them, and revealed Truth to them.

The emblems of His Sacrifice opened their eyes and they knew Him. He vanished and they said: “Did not our heart burn within us!”

Usually it is in silent Prayer meditation longing to find a source of comfort for the moment. This is the message today. Bits and pieces of wisdom for the tomorrows that follow. There is always comfort in God’s Word, but sometimes it is the last place we go to be comforted. One such verse that caught my eye was in Isaiah 34:16 and almost audibly I heard the words … “Seek ye out of the Book of the Lord, and Read …”

We hear Jesus say “Launch out into the deep …” we turn to the fruit of the Spirit given to us for a deeper experience in our salvation. Not only the Fruit of the Spirit, but the simplicity of God’s Word reveals truth that will sustain us when we are toiling through a night experience! In a crisis we must do as Peter did, respond with “nevertheless at Thy Word I will...!”

May we, His gentiles worship Him! Gold, frankincense, and myrrh, the kings brought … what will we bring to worship Him in this New Year? The greatest offering we can bring is ourselves … search His Word, lift up our voices in praise and adoration, and bring unto Him the tithe of our labor.