A few weeks ago an interesting phenomenon occurred that had Israeli scientists baffled.  A Gray Whale appeared off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea! Gray whales have not been seen in the Atlantic Ocean for hundreds of years. Apparently the big fella got a little lost as scientists suspect he swam in all the way from the Pacific Ocean. This event had me wondering in numerous ways… about whales…

….and reminded me of a story written in the San Francisco Chronicle about a female Humpback that had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. Weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat, with hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, tail, and torso, and a line tugging in her mouth, she was a miserable victim indeed.

Thankfully, a fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was in such bad condition the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her, a very dangerous proposition. One slap of her enormous tail could kill a rescuer. Undaunted, these brave souls worked for hours cutting her free. One guy who was cutting the rope out of her mouth says he saw her eye following him the entire time. Finally, they were able to free her.

The moment she was freed, the divers say she began to swim in joyous circles! She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, gently –she thanked them all. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.

Now here is a powerful lesson from a beautiful story. There are deeply wounded and entangled souls in our congregations and communities who are desperate and near to sinking, never to be seen again. Where are the brave souls ready to risk the danger and gather a team of rescuers to cut them loose and bring them to joyous freedom? Isn’t this exactly what our Lord has done for us? We can afford to do the same, and I believe we have this mandate from Him. These are difficult cases, perhaps there is even some danger in approaching them; but a brave and resolute team, led and empowered by our Captain, can accomplish the rescue and share in the amazing joy of the deliverance.

You may be the one to initiate this kind of rescue team for a brother or sister in distress. If so, just do it. The result will be as beautiful and rewarding as a joy-filled Humpback Whale!

In the Tenach (Old Testament), the Lord commanded Israel to count the Omer (the Barley Harvest) beginning the day after the sabbath during Passover, 50 days to the Biblical Festival of Shavuot (Pentecost). Today is the 29th day of the Omer and Shavuot is just a few weeks away.

A remarkable fact is that for nearly 2000 years the Jewish people had no homeland, and no harvest to count – yet they continued to count the Omer, counting a harvest that did not exist. Then, about 130 years ago a historical miracle began as the Lord drew the Jewish people back to their ancient homeland, the land of Israel. The land was revived from dusty desert, and the barley harvest was restored, (as well a multitude of other crops), so that now, the Omer is counted as it was in ancient times, with an actual harvest!

Now, if the Jews in diaspora (dispersion) could count the days of a non-existent harvest, in expectation of a divine blessing which they earnestly hoped for, then they set an excellent example for us who trust in the Messiah they gave to the world. Since faith is the conviction of things NOT seen, we, also, can begin to give thanks for blessings we’re praying for, but have yet to receive. Our unsaved loved-one, chronic illness, broken relationship, financial disaster, loss of vision…..all these are trials which are testing and maturing our faith.

We can rejoice in them, even as we give thanks in the expectation of victory, restoration, and a harvest of righteousness which is on the way. And may these come to many of us by Shavuot, this year (May 19th).

Thank the Lord for the blessings you’re about to receive — they’re on the way!

We have a cord-free, battery-free alarm clock — we call it KIDS! Like clockwork, each morning our kids, Elianna (6) and Obadiah (2), come and jump into our bed to give us that ever-so-joyful wake-up call. Since a lot of our work needs to get done at night, my wife and I have come to the conclusion that those 8-hour of sleep nights we used to enjoy just aren’t going to happen again…. at least for another few years.

What’s interesting to me about all this, is that when our kids wake up, they don’t wonder if we’ll be there — they come running and jumping, eagerly and expectantly to see us, sleepy-eyed, bad-breath’d and morning-haired as we may be. They don’t wake up worrying about what they’ll wear today or whether they’ll be warm enough — they expect that they’ll be changed and dressed up nice and warm when it’s cold. They don’t worry about if or what they’re going to eat — they expect that we’ll know that they’re hungry and will serve them a yummy, nutritious breakfast. When they fall down, they immediately look toward us — holding out their hands to receive our hugs and kisses to make it “all better”. They don’t question whether or not we love them — they’re sure of it! They have no worries. They expect that we will take care of their every need.

Don’t you wish you were a baby sometimes? No worries — getting pampered and hugged and kissed. Well, I have good news for you… you ARE a baby! You are the Lord’s baby! We are His children and He loves us with an everlasting and perfect love. He cares for us just like we care for our little children — in fact, even much, much more than that!

From this morning on, let’s start coming to the Lord as we are — His children! We needn’t worry about anything. Our Father awaits the time when we will totally put our trust in Him. He loves us and He knows every one of our needs before even a word is on our lips! Let’s practice putting our worries aside and determine to expect our Heavenly father to meet our every need. And don’t forget to take some time out today and say — Abba, thank you for loving me!

One day a passerby saw a homeless man on the roadside. He stopped for a moment to hand him some loose change and casually said “God bless you, my friend”.
“I thank God,” said the homeless man, “I am never unhappy.”
“What do you mean?” the passerby asked.
“Well,” he said, “when the sun is out, I thank God — when it rains, I thank God. When I am full, I thank God and when I am hungry, I thank God. And, since God’s will is my will, and whatever pleases Him pleases me, why should I say I am unhappy when I am not?”
The man looked at him in astonishment and asked, “Who are you?”
“I am a King,” said he.
“Where, then, is your Kingdom?” asked the man.
“In my heart.” The homeless man replied.

Yes, we can have nothing, yet have it all. So often, we focus on what we have and forget who we are! The two are not related at all — what we have (or don’t have) has nothing to do with who we are! The Word says that we are kings and priests and so it is!

Let’s give all our concerns to the Lord and see ourselves as He does — Kings and Priests! Thank God in every circumstance and there, we will find our victory.

This is a true story. When I wanted to ‘pop the question’, I planned the whole event out very carefully — the restaurant, the roses delivered to the corner table between two big windows overlooking the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, an especially made heart shaped cheesecake (her favorite) with beautiful orchids atop for decoration. Even with all this preparation, when I actually did the proposing after dinner, on my knee, with ring in hand, my beloved just stared at the ring in disbelief. After a few very long minutes that I awaited her answer on bended knee in the middle of the restaurant and there came none, I thought I’d better get back into my chair. Finally, after another few long minutes, she said ‘Well, aren’t you going to kneel down and ask me to marry you?’

She was so taken aback by the ring that she didn’t realize I had done it already! So there again, in the middle of the restaurant, she made me get back down and do it again! But that was the price I had to pay for such a lovely lady, I guess! Afterward, she glowed (as any girl would if she knew she was loved)!

In the ancient Hebrew marriage tradition, the groom’s father would go and find him a bride — like when Abraham sent his servant to choose a bride for Issac. A pretty price had to be paid for that bride, if you remember.

A price had to be paid for our marriage to the Lord too! And what price was that? It was Jesus’ voluntary death at Calvary.

Let’s remember the great price that was paid for us. The price was precious, because we are precious to Him! He has loved us with an eternal love that cannot be changed! We are His treasure! We should be glowing with joy!

This is a story relayed by Corrie Ten Boom, “It was Christmas, 1944. My sister, Betsie, had died. I was in a hospital barracks in Ravensbruck, a Nazi prison camp. Dark it was in my heart, and darkness was around me. There were Christmas trees in the street between the barracks. Dead bodies of prisoners had been thrown under the Christmas trees. I tried to talk to the people around me about Christmas, but they mocked and sneered. At last I kept quiet.

In the middle of the night I suddenly heard a child crying and calling, “Mommy! Come to Oelie. Oelie feels so alone.” I went to her and saw a child not so young, but feebleminded. “Oelie, Mommy cannot come, but do you know who is willing to come to you? Jesus will come.” Oelie was lying on a bed next to the window, not far from lack of food, she had a sweet face and beautiful eyes. A bandage of toilet paper covered an incision from surgery on her back. That night I told this poor child about Jesus. How He came into the world as a little baby how He came to save us from our sins. “The Lord Jesus loves Oelie and has borne her punishment on the cross…. Jesus is … [in heaven] right now. He is getting a little house ready for Oelie.” Later I asked her what she remembered of what I had told her. “What is the little house like?” I asked. “It is very beautiful. There are no wicked people as in Ravensbruck only good people and angels. And Oelie will see Jesus there.” The child added, “I will ask Jesus to make me brave when I have a pain. I will think of the pain that Jesus suffered to show Oelie the way to heaven.” Oelie folded her hands; together we gave thanks. Then I knew why I had to spend this Christmas in Ravensbruck.”

Often we find ourself in difficult situations or places and we can’t for the life of us understand for what possible reason we’re here — but be encouraged! We may not understand but God does! And who knows whether you have come into the kingdom for such a time as this?

I recently read a powerful story about a Dutch pastor and his family who had been hiding Jewish people in their home during the second World War. One night, they heard the sound of heavy boots and the loud impatient knocking on the door. They were arrested and loaded into a cattle car. All night long, the pastor and his family rode along in anguish, knowing they were being taken to one of Hitler’s concentration camps only to be separated from each other and likely killed.

Finally, the the train stopped. The doors of the cattle car were opened. They were marched out and lined up beside the railroad tracks. But then something very strange happened. They discovered that they were not in a death camp at all — they weren’t even in Germany!

During the night a courageous employee risked his life and purposely tripped a switch which sent the train of prisoners to Switzerland, to their freedom. Instead of being marched to death, they were welcomed to new life. Wow. Thank you God. In the midst of his joy and relief, the Dutch pastor said, “What do you do with such a gift?”

We have been given a gift of redemption much more powerful than this! And what are we doing with such a gift? Let’s start being about doing the work of the Kingdom! There’s so much work to be done!

This is a sweet story we came across.

When our son Pete was six, it was a Depression year and the bare essentials were all we could afford. We felt we were richer than most people, though, in things of the mind and imagination and spirit. That was a comfort of sorts to us, but nothing a six-year-old could understand.

With Christmas a week off, we told Pete that there could not be any store-bought presents this year–for any of us. “But I’ll tell you what we can do,” said his father with an inspiration born of heartbreak. “We can make pictures of the presents we’d like to give each other.”

For the next few days each of us worked secretly, with smirks and giggles. Somehow we did scrape together enough to buy a small tree. But we had pitifully few decorations to trim it with. Yet, on Christmas morning, never was a tree heaped with such riches! The gifts were only pictures of gifts, to be sure, cut out or drawn and colored and painted, nailed and hammered and pasted and sewed. But they were presents, luxurious beyond our dreams: A slinky black limousine and a red motor boat for Daddy. A diamond bracelet and a fur coat for me. Pete’s presents were the most expensive toys cut from advertisements. Our best present to him was a picture of a fabulous camping tent, complete with Indian designs, painted, of course, by Daddy, and magnificent pictures of a swimming pool, with funny remarks by me. Daddy’s best present to me was a watercolor he had painted of our dream house, white with green shutters and forsythia bushes on the lawn.

Naturally we didn’t expect any “best present” from Pete. But with squeals of delight, he gave us a crayon drawing of flashy colors and the most modernistic technique. But it was unmistakably the picture of three people laughing–a man, a woman, and a little boy. They had their arms around one another and were, in a sense, one person. Under the picture he had printed just one word: US. For many years we have looked back at that day as the richest, most satisfying Christmas we have ever had. — Margery Tallcott

The most precious things in life cannot be bought with money. Let’s focus on the wonderful gifts we’ve been given this season — family, friends and most of all, God’s grace toward us in sending His Son Jesus to die in our place. Merry, merry Christmas.

Scottish minister Alexander Whyte was known for his uplifting prayers in the pulpit. He always found something for which to be grateful. One Sunday morning the weather was so gloomy that one church member thought to himself, “Certainly the preacher won’t think of anything for which to thank the Lord on a wretched day like this.” Much to his surprise, however, Whyte began by praying, “We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this.”

You see, there is always a way to thank God, even in the worst of circumstances. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Let’s experience a true happy thanks giving today — let’s will to thank God, and do it happily! As we draw near to Him with our thanks, He will draw near to us and bring victory!

In her book, Let Me Be a Woman, Elizabeth Elliot records the story of a friend who had great difficulty accepting the looks God had given her. While everyone this girl knew had grown beautiful golden hair, hers was black. And while they were all still growing, she had stopped. She grew to be only about four feet ten inches tall.

Eventually, she reached the country to which God had called her to be a missionary. One day, she stood on the wharf in Shanghai and looked around at the people to whom He had called her. “Every single one of them” she said, “had black hair. And every one of them had stopped growing when I did.” She was able to look to God and exclaim, “Lord God, You know what You’re doing!”

Are you struggling with something specific today? Have you been asking, “Why Lord?!” Whether we realize it or not, God knows what He’s doing! We may not understand it today — but He has known these things from the very beginning. And He really is carrying out His great plan in us! Cheer up! God is preparing His vessels for GREAT things! There’s so much work to be done!

Not long ago, we went to see a life-size replica of the tabernacle in the desert, a couple hours from where we live. It was really fascinating. As we went into the Holy of Holies, the guide shared something I never heard before.

According to Jewish tradition, even to this day, when a son dies, his father tears his shirt as a sign of his agony and mourning. You can see this at traditional Jewish funerals worldwide.

Years ago, right when His Son Jesus died, His Father tore His veil. It is because of His great mercy toward us, that He allowed His Son to die for our redemption. And the tearing of that veil allows us to enter the Holy of Holies and fellowship with Him. Hmm. Goosebumps.

Today, we can come to the throne boldly — not because of anything we’ve done –but because of God’s wonderful compassion. Let’s enter the Holy place with the Lord today — worship Him and thank Him, boldly make our requests known and expect Him to do great and mighty things!

Corrie Ten Boom tells this story in her book, Each New Day. “When I saw Sadhu Sundar Singh in Europe, he had completed a tour around the world. People asked him, Doesn’t it do harm, your getting so much honor?” The Sadhu’s answer was: “No. The donkey went into Jerusalem, and they put garments on the ground before him. He was not proud. He knew it was not done to honor him, but for Jesus, who was sitting on his back. When people honor me, I know it is not me, but the Lord, who does the job.”

Another wise person once said, “I believe the first test of a truly great man is his humility. I do not mean by humility, doubt of his own power, or hesitation in speaking his opinion. But really great men have a … feeling that the greatness is not in them but through them; that they could not do or be anything else than God made them.”

We too, should strive to live knowing that the greatness is through us and give God all the glory He deserves! Lord, help us! We want to empty ourselves of our desires and our agendas, and be available for all the works you want to do through us! And Lord, we want to live a life of honoring You for every work! Thank you for loving us and helping us along the way — in the Name of Jesus, Amen!

An old chinese legend tells of a group of elderly, cultured gentlemen who met often to exchange wisdom and drink tea. Each host tried to find the finest and most costly varieties, to create exotic blends that would arouse the admiration of his guests. When the most venerable and respected of the group entertained, he served his tea with unprecedented ceremony, measuring the leaves from a golden box. The assembled epicures praised this exquisite tea. The host smiled and said, “The tea you have found so delightful is the same tea our peasants drink. I hope it will be a reminder to all that the good things in life are not necessarily the rarest or the most costly.

No, the good things in life are right in front of our faces and we so often neglect to see them for how very precious they are – our redemption in Jesus, our spouses, our children, our parents and extended family, our brothers and sisters in the Lord, our wonderful five senses, the talents and abilities He’s given us – and soooo much more!

Let’s thank God for all the precious things he’s given us and let’s cherish them as so! We have so much! And there’s so much work to be done!!

We came across this quote in our search for devotional material and thought we’d share it with you in light of the holiday season. The author is not known but he or she is surely wise.

“If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer….. but our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.”

Yes, God sent us a Savior — that we might know His forgiveness. But not only that we might know it. God sent us a Savior so that we, who have been given the privilege of this knowledge, might go and share the good news of His forgiveness with all the world!

Let’s cherish His forgiveness today. Let’s revel in it and let all who don’t know that they can have the same!

It’s amazing to me how quickly we forget the good things that God has promised us and done for us — and not only do we forget, we begin to grumble!

Twice in the book of Luke, it is mentioned that Mary kept these things and pondered them. It seems that Mary always kept a place in her heart where she stored away God’s promises.

We, too, must create a place in our hearts to store away Gods gifts and promises to us so that we can always remain in a state of joy all the days of our lives.

Let’s reflect this holiday season, and unearth the many buried treasures with which God has blessed us. Let’s ponder those things and praise God for His goodness. He has already done so much in our lives and He wants to do more!

In ancient times, lepers were social outcasts because of their highly contagious disease. In this passage, ten lepers came to Jesus begging for mercy and He graciously healed them.

Can you imagine? These lepers had an awful disease. Their bodies were slowly deteriorating — and worse, they were shunned from their friends and family and forced to live in a community of only those who were too withering away. Suddenly merciful Jesus comes along and “poof!” the sickness leaves them! How life changing! These people must have been overjoyed! Now they could go back to their families, their homes, their communities and live normal lives!

But as I reread this story today something struck me. Only one of them returned to thank the Lord! But how often do we do the same? We get so focused on our blessing and forget about the One who gave it!

Just as the Samaritan returned to Jesus to thank and worship Him who had redeemed his life, we too must thank God — for every good and perfect gift comes from Him and He deserves all the honor and the glory! And as a matter of fact, one of the cornerstones of effective prayer is entering His gates with thanksgiving and praise. Let’s start thanking God for all His goodness toward us!

It’s easy to get caught up in the blessing — God has given us so much! But let’s be sure that we make daily habit of thanking God first!

Roger Babson, a famous statistician was having lunch with the President of Argentina, “Mr. Babson,” the President said, “I have been wondering why it is that South America, with all its natural advantages, mines of iron, copper, coal and silver, rivers and great waterfalls is so far behind North America?” Babson replied, “Well, Mr. President, what do you think is the reason?” He answered, “..South America was founded by the Spanish who came in search of gold. North America was founded by the Pilgrims who went there in search of God.”

If we live a life of seeking gold — the blessings of God but not God Himself — we end up losing both. The Pilgrims, who gave us the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving, came in search of God. It is because of this that America has reaped blessing upon blessing. We need to examine ourselves and be careful that we are seeking God in all things, putting Him first and giving thanks to Him always.

Seek first the kingdom of God and He will surely provide from His riches in glory.

In her book “The Hiding Place” Corrie ten Boom relates an incident that taught her always to be thankful. She and her sister Betsy had just been transferred to the worst German prison camp they had seen yet, called Ravensbruck. The barracks were extremely overcrowded and horribly flea-infested.

After their scripture reading in 1st Thessalonians that morning, where the Lord reminded them to rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances,

Betsy suggested they stop and thank the Lord for every detail of their new living quarters. At first, Corrie was appalled by the idea. She flatly refused to give thanks for that smelly, dirty, flea-ridden place. But Betsy persisted — and Corrie finally succumbed to her pleadings.

It was by a miracle of God that Corrie and Betsy were able to smuggle their Bible into the camp. If the guards found out that the women were holding nightly Bible studies in their barracks, they surely would have been punished harshly, maybe even killed. During the months they spent at that camp, however, no guard ever said one word.

It was not until several months later that they learned the reason why the guards would hardly ever come into their barracks. They wouldn’t enter the barracks because of the fleas!!

Perhaps you’re dealing with some difficult circumstances today. But who knows? There may be a purpose beyond our understanding! Let’s choose trust the Lord and maintain an attitude of thankfulness in every situation.

Some time ago, a friend was helping us do a couple of things around the house. When I asked him if he would mind doing one additional thing before he left, he jokingly responded, “and would you like fries with that”? Hmmm. A wise man was once asked, “How can I know if I have a servant’s attitude?” The wise man responded, “By how you act when you are treated like one!”

The word for servant in the above scripture is “doulos”, which literally means “bondslave” in the Greek. Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t treat us as such but like it or not, we are the Lord’s bondslaves and we are called to serve our Master’s every desire and respond immediately to his call at any given time.

Lord forgive us for the times we fall short of this high calling! We humble ourselves before you and recommit our mind, body and will, fully to you once again today. It is a priviledge and an honor to serve you. We love you and bless you and thank you for your infinite mercy. There is none like You. We pray in Jesus precious Name.

In Israel today, the celebration of Shavuot is taking place. Most Christians would recognize this as the celebration of Pentecost in Acts 2. However, the very first Shavuot took place fifty days after the Israel crossed the Red Sea. It was on this day that the law was given on tablets of stone.

Fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, Shavuot was celebrated again when the Holy Spirit was poured out and the law of God became written upon the hearts of men. Just as God had promised in Ezekiel and in Jeremiah — the law of God shall be written upon your heart.

Shavuot is both a celebration of the God’s faithfulness in the early harvest and an anticipation of the abundance of the final harvest yet to come. Just as three thousand Jewish people came to faith in Messiah on this day a couple thousand years ago, the day will soon come when the fullness of the Gentiles will be completed and then “all of Israel shall be saved!”

Let’s celebrate how the Lord has provided for us today and be assured that this is only a glimpse of our awaited home in glory — a home that the Lord has spent thousands of years preparing for us!

Last night we took part in the Independence Day celebration in Israel — whew! What a party — shows, fireworks, music, dancing, and everything else under the sun! But interestingly, the day before was a very solemn one. It was a day to remember all the soldiers who died protecting the cause of Israel’s birth and statehood. All the major television stations stopped airing for twenty-four hours in honor of these men and women. At different times during the day, long loud sirens rang all over the Land. Israelis stopped whatever they were doing — I’m talking about even standing still on the highways, to stop and remember them! The dedication and camaraderie among Israelis is just powerful. I have been many places and I’ve never seen anything like it.

This got me thinking. It is a beautiful thing to remember the price that was paid for our independence before we celebrate it.

Our Lord willingly laid down His life for our freedom. How much more should we take some time out to honor Him today before we celebrate the freedom He has so mercifully bestowed upon us?