The Song of the Waiter

Happy New Year!

Bishop Alexis A. Thomas preached "The Song of the Waiter".  He used Luke 2:25-35 as his reference scripture.

On September 28, 1976, Stevie Wonder released his album entitled, Songs in the Key of Life.  It proved to be an exciting, memorable, and enjoyable collection.  The songs reminded us of our own lives.  The Bible is also a book of songs.  There are songs for all occasions.  The "psalm" means song.  That's why we don't say the first chapter of Psalms.  We say the first number of Psalms, because they are songs.  The angels proclaimed the birth of Jesus with singing, "At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises: Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him." Luke 2:14(Message)   Deuteronomy 31:19-22 says that God gave the Children of Israel a song, “Now write down the words of this song, and teach it to the people of Israel as my warning to them...So, on that very day, Moses wrote down the words of the song and taught it to the Israelites." (Living Bible)   King David wrote and sang songs, Paul and Silas sang songs and praised God while in prison, and the Apostle John saw a great choir in heaven, "I heard a sound like massed choirs in Heaven singing, Hallelujah! The salvation and glory and power are God’s—his judgments true, his judgments just." Revelation 19:1 (Message) 

Luke 2:25-35 introduces us to Simeon.  The scriptures tell us that he was "righteous and devout".  He was familiar with the promises of God and he knew that the Messiah was coming.  God promised him that he would not die until he saw the baby.  So he waited, and waited, and waited.  Bishop Thomas said, "He worshiped, he waited, and he checked bassinets. LOL. He obeyed God, and waited for the promise.  He had "Faith"!  He knew that God could be trusted.  When Joseph and Mary brought Jesus in to be circumcised, the Holy Spirit revealed to him, that this one was the one.  Simeon rejoiced!

This is the song of the waiter..."God, you can now release your servant; release me in peace as you promised. With my own eyes, I've seen your salvation; it’s now out in the open for everyone to see: A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations, and of glory for your people Israel." (Message)

If you are waiting for that blessing, that healing, or that deliverance...BE ENCOURAGED! God always keeps his promises.  Study your bible and remind yourself often of his "great and precious promises".  Like Simeon, be confident that God will do what he says he will do!

Love and prayers, patiently waiting...Cynthia

Scandal

Happy Sunday!

Bishop Alexis A. Thomas preached, "There's Scandal in Bethlehem!" He used Matthew 1:18-26 as his reference scriptures.

If you haven't heard of the television show "Scandal", I have one question for you...where have you been? I have never watched it but I have heard all the buzz about it. Thursday nights it's hard to navigate through all the postings about it on Facebook. Bishop David G. Evans even conducts up to the minute tweets and posts about the show. Bishop Thomas reported that he had never watched Scandal until this week. He watched the season finale. He is hooked and he will be anxiously awaiting further episodes. He said it brought back fond memories of his time watching or following, "24".

The Bible is full of real life stories of scandalous behavior. Every possible story of triumph, tragedy, or condition is played out on the pages of the Word. You should read it some time!

Matthew 1:18-26 says, "So here, finally, is the story of the birth of Jesus the Anointed (it is quite a remarkable story): Mary was engaged to marry Joseph, son of David. They hadn’t married. And yet, some time well before their wedding date, Mary learned that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph, because he was kind and upstanding and honorable, wanted to spare Mary shame. He did not wish to cause her more embarrassment than necessary. This is remarkable, because Mary has never had sex. She and Joseph have not even spent very much time alone, but they are pledged to each other and their wedding feast has been planned. She has never even kissed a man. She is a virgin, yet she is pregnant. Miraculous! On the other hand, Joseph suspects that Mary has cheated on him and had sex with another man. He knows he will have to break their engagement, but he decides to do this quietly. Mary understands that it is God, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, who has made her pregnant. Now when Joseph had decided to act on his instincts, a messenger of the Lord came to him in a dream. The Messenger of the Lord said: Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to wed Mary and bring her into your home and family as your wife. She did not sneak off and sleep with someone else—rather, she conceived the baby she now carries through the miraculous wonderworking of the Holy Spirit. She will have a son, and you will name Him Jesus, which means “the Lord saves,” because this Jesus is the person who will save all of His people from sin. Joseph woke up from his dream and did exactly what the messenger had told him to do: he married Mary and brought her into his home as his wife (though he did not consummate their marriage until after her son was born). And when the baby was born, Joseph named Him Jesus, Savior. Years and years ago, Isaiah, a prophet of Israel, foretold the story of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus: A virgin will conceive and bear a Son, and His name will be Immanuel (which is a Hebrew name that means “God with us”). (Voice)
Now that's real drama! What can we take away from this message? I'm glad you asked! This message reminds us that even if we are experiencing unusual circumstances God has a plan! Even if things aren't going as we wished and dreamed, hang in there...God is able! Philippians 1:6 says, "There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears." (Message) Even if you weren't born in a mansion with a silver spoon in your mouth, just trust..."We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan." Romans 8:28 (Voice)

Love and prayers, Cynthia

You Gotta Feel It In Your Bones!

Happy Sunday!

 

Bishop Alexis A. Thomas preached, "You Gotta Feel It In Your Bones!"  He used Exodus 13:19 and 2 Kings 13:20-21 as his reference scriptures.

 

In order to achieve our goals and rise to the highest level of our purpose in life, Christ must be a necessity.  The Word says, "But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides." Matthew 6:33 (Amplified Version)   Our relationship with Jesus Christ cannot be tertiary, ancillary, or secondary!  Our relationship with the Lord must be primary!

When Bishop made the previous comment, I immediately thought of Military Basic Training.  Now, I have never served my country in that capacity, but I have many, many family members and friends that have served, and are serving in the military.  From firsthand accounts and various depictions in the movies, I have come to the realization that Basic Training is an opportunity for the Military Leadership to instill discipline in the soldiers.  Even the Apostle Paul used military service as an example.  In 2 Timothy 2:3 he wrote, "A soldier on duty doesn't get caught up in making deals at the marketplace. He concentrates on carrying out orders." (Message Translation)

We are Soldiers in the Army of the Lord!  It's real!  It's not just a catchy song we learned in church!  Everyday we have to battle.  We battle negativity on the job.  We battle health issues and crisis.  We battle depression, oppression, and recession.  We battle just to trust that God's Word and Promises are true and will come to pass.  We can not live this life without some type of struggle.  The Psalmist said, "Hard times may well be the plight of the righteous—they may often seem overwhelmed—but the Eternal rescues the righteous from what oppresses them." Psalm 34:19 (Voice Translation)  and "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all." Psalm 34:19 (King James Version) 

In the first reference scripture Bishop used it says, "Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly swear to do it, saying, “God will surely hold you accountable, so make sure you bring my bones from here with you.”  Joseph remembered the promised that God made to Abraham.  He knew that one day they would be delivered and return to the land that God promised Abraham.  He made them promise to take his bones with them when they left Egypt.  Bishop Tudor Bismark says that "bones" represent structure.  Joseph trusted that God's Word was true.  He wanted his bones to be there when the Promise came to pass.

In the second reference scripture Bishop used it says, "Elisha then died and was laid to rest. The Moabite bandits used to storm the land every spring. It was expected by the people. During the springtime, while a group of men were out burying a man, they spied a gang of bandits approaching them. They became afraid, so they threw the dead man’s body into Elisha’s grave. As soon as the dead man’s body touched the bones of Elisha, the dead man miraculously came back to life and stood up." 2 Kings 13:20-21(Voice)   The anointing on the prophets bones was so strong it brought a dead man back to life!

YOU GOTTA FEEL IT IN YOUR BONES!  You have to know that you know that you know!  You have to be convinced deep down inside!  You have to have FAITH that God loves you!  You have to know that he is faithful to his WORD!  You have to trust that he will bring you out!  No matter what it looks like! No matter what "they" say! 

Like a good soldier put on all your equipment, learn to use your weapon.  Learn to break it down like a soldier breaks his rifle apart to clean it! Ephesians 6:11-17 says, "Put on the full armor of God to protect yourselves from the devil and his evil schemes. We’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places. And this is why you need to be head-to-toe in the full armor of God: so you can resist during these evil days and be fully prepared to hold your ground. Yes, stand—truth banded around your waist, righteousness as your chest plate, and feet protected in preparation to proclaim the good news of peace. Don’t forget to raise the shield of faith above all else, so you will be able to extinguish flaming spears hurled at you from the wicked one. Take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Voice)

Love and prayers, Cynthia