Dear Partner,
April is such a beautiful time of year! However, right now there is so much trouble, such as WAR in ISRAEL. But Jesus warned us about wars and rumors of wars in the last days in Matthew 24:3:
- And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Let’s go to Acts 2:17:
- And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
The Spirit of God, through the Apostle Peter, has allowed us to know that you and I are living in the last of the LAST DAYS. Well, I’ve done it again. What? Preached myself happy writing this letter! Let’s continue this because it’s the most powerful revelation in the entire written WORD of God! When I first began preaching this, people became angry with me.
Let’s look at verses 22-24:
- Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
- Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
- Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Remember, now! He is our LORD and Savior, and He took what we DESERVED! First Peter 2:24 says: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
Then, Matthew 12:39-40:
- But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
- For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
My message that made people angry was called “What Happened From the Cross to the Throne.” Now back to Acts 2:25-27:
- For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw The LORD always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
- Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
- Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Now, on to verses 30-31:
- Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
- He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
We, as Christians, should refresh our hearts and renew our minds to these things on a more regular basis than we do! Read with me John 19:28-30:
- After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
- Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
- When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Now go to Matthew 27:45-46: “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
David wrote these things from the depth of his heart. Read with me the first and last verses of Psalm 22 in the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?… They shall come and shall declare His righteousness to a people yet to be born—that He has done it [that it is finished]!”
There you have it! Take the time to read and meditate on these powerful scriptures. We can now have a greater appreciation and understanding of what Psalm 23:4 says: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Put that together with 1 John 3:8: “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
Hang on, we’re almost there! Hebrews 2:9 in the AMPC says: “But we are able to see Jesus, Who was ranked lower than the angels for a little while, crowned with glory and honor because of His having suffered death, in order that by the grace (unmerited favor) of God [to us sinners] He might experience death for every individual person.”
“By the grace of God should TASTE DEATH, OR EXPERIENCE DEATH, FOR EVERY INDIVIDUAL PERSON”! That’s the reason we WALK BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT! Glory to God! Praise Him forevermore! That, dear Partner, is for you and for me! But wait, as the TV commercial announcers say, there’s more! Read verses 9-18 (AMPC) and shout with me!
- But we are able to see Jesus, Who was ranked lower than the angels for a little while, crowned with glory and honor because of His having suffered death, in order that by the grace (unmerited favor) of God [to us sinners] He might experience death for every individual person.
- For it was an act worthy [of God] and fitting [to the divine nature] that He, for Whose sake and by Whom all things have their existence, in bringing many sons into glory, should make the Pioneer of their salvation perfect [should bring to maturity the human experience necessary to be perfectly equipped for His office as High Priest] through suffering.
- For both He Who sanctifies [making men holy] and those who are sanctified all have one [Father]. For this reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren;
- For He says, I will declare Your [the Father’s] name to My brethren; in the midst of the [worshiping] congregation I will sing hymns of praise to You.
- And again He says, My trust and assured reliance and confident hope shall be fixed in Him. And yet again, Here I am, I and the children whom God has given Me.
- Since, therefore, [these His] children share in flesh and blood [in the physical nature of human beings], He [Himself] in a similar manner partook of the same [nature], that by [going through] death He might bring to nought and make of no effect him who had the power of death—that is, the devil—
- And also that He might deliver and completely set free all those who through the [haunting] fear of death were held in bondage throughout the whole course of their lives.
- For, as we all know, He [Christ] did not take hold of angels [the fallen angels, to give them a helping and delivering hand], but He did take hold of [the fallen] descendants of Abraham [to reach out to them a helping and delivering hand].
- So it is evident that it was essential that He be made like His brethren in every respect, in order that He might become a merciful (sympathetic) and faithful High Priest in the things related to God, to make atonement and propitiation for the people’s sins.
- For because He Himself [in His humanity] has suffered in being tempted (tested and tried), He is able [immediately] to run to the cry of (assist, relieve) those who are being tempted and tested and tried [and who therefore are being exposed to suffering].
That, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, is the gospel—the good news. Shout that 14th verse: “BRING TO NOUGHT”! Hebrews 11:1-6 (AMPC). ZERO the one who HAD the power of death. Philippians 2:5-11, AMPC, says:
- Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:]
- Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained,
- But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.
- And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!
- Therefore [because He stooped so low] God has highly exalted Him and has freely bestowed on Him the name that is above every name,
- That in (at) the name of Jesus every knee should (must) bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
- And every tongue [frankly and openly] confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus—the NAME which is ABOVE every name! Poverty, you’re a name. Cancer, you’re a name. Bow your knee to the Name of Jesus. Well, you can see what you’re going to be hearing in 2024! I believe you can also understand why we continually say with so much joy: “God Loves you, we Love you, and Jesus is LORD!”
As you sow your BLESSING seed this month, pray this with me at every meal: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Your Name. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven in every election this year—for every school board, every sheriff, every judge, every mayor, city manager, governors of every state, the president and vice president. Father, we remind You of the covenant made by the first act of our Congress as President George Washington opened the Bible to Genesis 17 and dedicated the USA to You! We remind You of the Liberty Bell that has Leviticus 25:10, the great Year of Jubilee, inscribed on it: ‘Proclaim liberty throughout all the land.’” And they rang the bell so hard, they broke it! President Washington designed our red, white and blue flag, with 13 stars, and now there are 50 stars on it!
Think on these truths and “BLESS The LORD, O my soul: and all [everything] that is within me, BLESS his holy name…and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:1-2). Yes, amen. So until next month, remember that Gloria and I pray for you at every meal. The entire KCM staff prays for you every day, and so does the EMIC staff, KCBC staff and students! God Loves you, we Love you, and Jesus is LORD!
PS. Remember when I asked Gloria to marry me on our first date, and she said, “OK” and went into her folks’ house? She said, “What have I done? I don’t even know this guy. Oh well, I’ll get out of it later.” Well, our 62nd anniversary is this month, and still counting!
