[Faith-talk] FW: [reachingouttoothersgroup] COME HOME, GOD IS CALLING - UPWORDS

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: "Mary Ann" <SongsofJoy at shaw.ca>
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
Subject: [reachingouttoothersgroup] COME HOME, GOD IS CALLING - UPWORDS
Date: 
Sat, 21 May 2011 08:50:49 -0600

Devotion


Upwords  
May 21, 2011

Come Home, God is Calling
By Max Lucado


Not a pretty sight, the pigpen of sin. Filth. Smelly. Rottenness that
sticks to your skin, mats your hair, and fills your soul. It's hard, oh so
hard, to get clean.

You can't even track your path to this pit of slime.

It wasn't always like this!

One minute, life was a party. Then, in a blink, this.

Or maybe you traveled a slow, downward spiral. Small steps taken.

Wrong turns. But each decision moving you miles away from the Father who
would do anything to bring you home.

I want to come home!

There's only one clear view from the pigpen. Look up! Look up to the One
who can rescue you. And listen. God is calling!

Chapter Three - Promises for Prodigals
When Jesus said, "I am he," they moved back and fell to the ground.-John
18:6

My father taught me the lesson early: Don't create havoc in the garden.
You can play ball in the yard. You can have races in the alley. You can
build a fort in the tree. But the garden? Leave it alone.

It was a small garden, about the size of a walk-in closet. We grew
nothing exotic, except for some mint. We'd soak the leaves in our summer
tea. Though the vegetables were tasty, we didn't need to grow them. We
could have bought them at the market. So why did Dad insist on having a
garden?

He loved to see life. And a garden is a place of life, a place where buds
explode and plants push back the soil. A place of turnips and tulips and
tomato plants. A place worthy of love and protection. Flowers are fragile.
Plants are precious. So yank the weeds and scatter the varmints. Put up a
fence. Grow a hedge. Make a scarecrow.

"Son, whatever you do, don't go trampling around in the garden."

I hate to think I have anything in common with the devil, but I guess I
do. Satan learned the same lesson: Don't mess around with a
garden-especially a garden that belongs to the Father.

The Bible is the story of two gardens. Eden and Gethsemane. In the first,
Adam took a fall. In the second, Jesus took a stand. In the first, God
sought Adam. In the second, Jesus sought God. In Eden, Adam hid from God.
In Gethsemane, Jesus emerged from the tomb. In Eden, Satan led Adam to a
tree that led to his death. From Gethsemane, Jesus went to a tree that led
to our life.

Satan was never invited to the Garden of Eden. He did not belong there.
He was not wanted there. He slithered as a snake into God's garden and
infected God's children.

That's all he's done since. Hasn't he entered a few of your holy gardens?

We even call it "holy matrimony." The word altar implies the presence of
God. Marriage was God's idea. The first wedding occurred in the first
garden. But that doesn't make any difference to the devil. He snakes his
way into every home with one desire-to destroy.

Sexual intimacy is God's gift. Virginity is a rose plucked from the
garden, given by God and intended to be shared with your forever partner.
Satan mocks such loyalty. He is the father of incest and abuse. He is the
author of immorality. He is the pimp of the garden.

We give sacred oaths and make solemn promises. We vow to be a good
parent, a true companion, and a loyal friend. But Satan's head turns when
he hears a pledge. "We'll see about that," the father of lies smirks.

In God's eyes, a child is holy. The innocence of youth, the freshness of
childhood, the joy of an infant. There was never a moment when Jesus turned
away a child. But there has never been a child Satan didn't despise. He was
killing babies to kill Moses. He was destroying infants to destroy the
Christ. His tactics haven't changed. Millions of babies are still aborted;
thousands of children are abused. Jesus said of Satan, "He was a murderer
from the beginning" (John 8:44).

Is there a realm untouched by Satan? Is there a place unscarred by his
sword? The church? The government? Children? Purity? Promises?

And you! And me! We are called to be holy. We were made to be holy. Set
apart for his good work. We are the prized flowers of the garden. But is
there one person who has not felt the foot of the intruder?

What Satan did in Eden, he does today. For that reason we need to know
that what Jesus did in Gethsemane, he does today. He reclaims the holy. He
will not long sit silent while Satan strip-mines the sacred. At the right
moment Jesus stands and speaks. And when he stands and speaks, Satan
stumbles and is silent.

Exactly what happened in Gethsemane.

John tells us that "Judas came there with a group of soldiers and some
guards from the leading priests and Pharisees" (John 18:3). A bit of study
reveals that Satan has masterminded a mighty coup. He has enlisted the
muscle of each significant force of the drama-the Romans, the Jews, and the
apostles.1

First he has a "group of soldiers." The Greek word is speira. It has
three possible meanings. It can signify a Roman cohort of three hundred
men. It can refer to a cavalry and infantry totaling nineteen hundred
soldiers. Or it can describe a detachment known as a maniple, which
contained two hundred men.1

Amazing. I always had the impression that a handful of soldiers arrested
Jesus. I was wrong. At minimum two hundred soldiers were dispatched to deal
with a single carpenter and his eleven friends!

Also present were "some guards." This was the temple police. They were
assigned to guard the holiest place during the busiest time of the year.
They must have been among Israel's finest.

And then there was Judas. One of the inner circle. Not only had Satan
recruited the Romans and the Jews, he had infiltrated the cabinet. Hell
must have been rejoicing. There was no way Jesus could escape. Satan sealed
every exit. His lieutenants anticipated every move, except one.

Jesus had no desire to run. He had no intent of escape. He hadn't come to
the garden to retreat. What they found among the trees was no coward; what
they found was a conqueror.

Note the dialogue that ensued:

Knowing everything that would happen to him, Jesus went out and asked,
"Who is it you are looking for?"

They answered, "Jesus from Nazareth."

"I am he," Jesus said. (Judas, the one who turned against Jesus, was
standing there with them.) When Jesus said, "I am he," they moved back and
fell to the ground.

Jesus asked them again, "Who is it you are looking for?"

They said, "Jesus of Nazareth."

"I told you that I am he," Jesus said. "So if you are looking for me, let
the others go" (John 18:4-8).

Remarkable. They stand only a few feet from his face and don't recognize
him. Not even Judas realizes who stands before them. What a truth. Seeing
Jesus is more than a matter of the eyes; it is a matter of the heart. The
enemy is next to Jesus and doesn't realize it.

He reveals himself. "I am he." His voice flicks the first domino, and
down they tumble. Were the moment not so solemn it would be comic. These
are the best soldiers with Satan's finest plan; yet one word from Jesus,
and they fall down! The Roman guard becomes the Keystone Cops. Two hundred
fighting men collapse into a noisy pile of shields, swords, and lamps.
Don't miss the symbolism here: When Jesus speaks, Satan falls.

Doesn't matter who the evil one has recruited. Doesn't matter if he has
infiltrated the government. Doesn't matter if he has seduced the temple.
Doesn't matter if he has enlisted one of the original, handpicked apostles.
The best of Satan melts as wax before the presence of Christ.

Jesus has to ask them again whom they seek. "Who are you after?"

When they answer that they are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, he
instructs them, "So if you are looking for me, let the others go."

What is this? Jesus commanding them! A Jew instructing a Roman? A
renegade directing the temple guard? We turn to the commander, expecting a
reply. We look at Judas, awaiting his retort. We listen, expecting someone
to announce, "You're not the one in charge here, Nazarene! We'll take
whoever we want." But not only are they silent, they are obedient. The
apostles are set free.

Many players appear on the stage of Gethsemane. Judas and his betrayal.
Peter and his sword. The disciples and their fears. The soldiers and their
weapons. And though these are crucial, they aren't instrumental. The
encounter is not between Jesus and the soldiers; it is between God and
Satan. Satan dares to enter yet another garden but God stands and Satan
hasn't a prayer.

Don't miss the message:

Our fight is not against people on earth but against the rulers and
authorities and the powers of this world's darkness, against the spiritual
powers of evil in the heavenly world (Eph. 6:12).

The Son of God came for this purpose: to destroy the devil's work (1 John
3:8).

Don't miss the promises:

Satan falls in the presence of Christ. One word from his lips, and the
finest army in the world collapsed.

Satan is silent in the proclamation of Christ. Not once did the enemy
speak without Jesus' invitation. Before Christ, Satan has nothing to say.

Satan is powerless against the protection of Christ. "I have not lost any
of the ones you gave me" (John 18:9).

When Jesus says he will keep you safe, he means it. Hell will have to get
through him to get to you. Jesus is able to protect you. When he says he
will get you home, he will get you home.

Let me conclude this chapter with an important question. Has Satan
invaded a garden of your life? Has he profaned a holy part of your world?
Your marriage? Your purity? Your honesty? Has he taken away from you a rose
God gave? If so, let Jesus claim it back. Today. Now. Before you turn the
page.

Forgive me for sounding urgent, but I am. Satan has no authority over
you. If he has invaded a garden of your life, then invite Jesus to reclaim
it. Open the gate to God. He will enter and do what he did at Gethsemane.
He will pray, and he will protect.

Why don't you do that?

Don't know how? It's easy. I'll help you. Let's pray. You and me. I'll
show you the way; you fill in the blanks.

Precious Father, I praise your name. You have reclaimed so much in my
life. I was lost, and you found me. I was confused, and you guided me. I
had nothing to offer, but still you loved me.

I confess that I still need help. I have a part of my life that needs
your touch. Satan is battling for a garden in my heart. Don't let him win.
Drive him out. He is a liar and has been since the beginning. Please defeat
him. I'll give you the glory.

Father, here is the area where I need your strength____________________.

And this is the place where I step out. I'll leave you and God to talk
over the details.



Midi:" Alpha Omega"
Devotion written by : excerpt from "Gentle Thunder " ©1995 by Max Lucado