The Sword of the LORD

According to Webster’s New World Dictionary , the original meaning of the word “inspire” was “to breathe, or blow upon or into,” and, “to infuse life into by breathing.”  Before Jesus ascended to heaven after His death and resurrection, He appeared to His disciples and said to them, “Peace be unto you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.”  Scripture says that He then breathed on them and said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.”  Also, when God created man, He breathed into Him the breath of life, and from that time on man could only survive as he continued to draw breath.  When Jesus breathed on the disciples that day, however, it was something more.  It was the infusing of the Holy Spirit into their lives; and just as it was necessary for them to breathe to sustain their life, it would now be necessary for them to draw life from Jesus through the Holy Spirit that He breathed into them.    It is this breath of God, this inspiration of the Alm...

As the air grows crisper, and the trees begin to show signs of fading, turn colors, and lose their foliage, I am reminded of the perpetual ebb and flow of the seasons around us.   Just as surely as summer explodes into fall, I know that fall will eventually fade into winter which, in turn, will yield to spring's regeneration.   Many people complain about certain seasons, or various aspects of them, but I have grown to appreciate them all.   Just as there are challenges to every season, there are also just as many blessings that can be found in each one.     Each season is unique and offers opportunities or tasks that are specific to that time, and that time only.  People who lived during the 18th and 19th centuries understood this much better than we do in this modern age.  They paid close attention to the changes of seasons and the phases of the moon.  "Moon seasons" governed when the best time to fell wood, plant various crops, or drive catt...

“And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief. ” (Mark 9:24).    I don’t know about you, but many times I have found myself praying this same prayer that the distraught father in Mark chapter 9 prayed.  I find that it is easier to believe that God will help others who are going through struggles than it is to believe for myself.  It is also easier to believe for generalities than it is to trust God for one specific and very desperate need.  I can say I believe that God will meet all my needs, heal my body, and protect me from harm, and I can really mean it, but until my finances are threatened, my health is compromised, or danger is looming near, it is all theoretical .  When these things touch my life, I must learn to apply God’s Word in practical ways.  It is no longer a matter of what God could do, but a matter of what He wants to do right now for me.  This is where my ...