LOOKING FOR LOVE IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES

LOOKING FOR LOVE IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES:

“For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.  How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!” Psalm 139:13-17  

Young man, you are fearfully and wonderfully made by God. God loves you with an everlasting love. May you come to know this love that is full of amazing grace and mercy. When you come to know this love you will no longer look for love in all the wrong places. Young man, God’s love is satisfying and freeing.

Looking for love in all the wrong places:

You look for love in the frat houses

You look for love in the party houses

You look for love in the rum-bars

You look for love in glasses of alcohol poured from bottles after bottles of strong drinks.

You look for love in the drug houses

You look for love in the company of persons or peoples

But you cannot find love, because you are looking for love in all the wrong places.

The frat houses, the party houses, the rum bars, the glasses of alcohol, the drugs, and the company of persons or peoples cannot satisfy your needs nor give you the love you seek. Yet you kept reaching out to the same places that cannot give you the love you seek. Finally, you hit ‘rock bottom’ and turn to your guns. For some of you it is the gun your parents bought you as a gift, in an effort to replace the love they should have given you instead. Some of you bought yours from the gun shop owned by careless and greedy gun owners who refuse to even notice you were not well – that you were lost and needed their guidance.  

Your parents treated you with kiddy gloves not wanting to hurt your feelings. They’re in denial, refusing to spell out for you the truth you so desperately need to hear. Young man you are not well. You need help. You’re filled with rage, hate, and hopelessness. And with guns in your hand, the guns you bought, the guns your parents gave you instead of the love you deserve, and you set out on the path of destruction. You set out not only to harm yourself but to take innocent lives along with yours. All the while no one told you that you have a problem, no one told you, that you need help. Everyone swept their suspicions under rugs, in denial hoping it would all just go away. But it didn’t go away. Because you didn’t just take your own life, you took theirs too, and you took innocent little lives.  All because you looked for love in all the wrong places.

The places you are looking for love, you will not find it there. You will only find overwhelming hate and rage in your heart at the end of your quest for this love.

That overwhelming hate and rage nearly took the life of my innocent granddaughter recently, while she sleeps in her bed. That rage took the lives of some college students in California, and other innocent bystanders. That rage took the lives of innocent children while they learn in their classroom. That rage brought an entire community to their knees in Connecticut, NY, as they laid their loved ones including many little children to rest. And it is all because you are looking for love in all the wrong places, and no one told you it’s all the wrong places.

You thought you were doing the right thing at the time. But now you regretted it. Now it’s too late. You have not only ended your own life, but you have taken away the lives of innocent people, many of them innocent little children. You cannot bring them back. You cannot undo what you have done.

Too late to murmur the signs you saw in this young man and said nothing. Too late to take back the guns you gave him as a gift when he needed help. Too late to give the love you held back from him when he needed it. Too late to hold him in your arms and say I love you son. Too late to wipe his tears away and tell him we will take care of you. Too late to get him the help he needed. Too late is the cry. And far too long he’d looked for love in all the wrong places.

There is a song which goes like this:

Must I go an empty handed?

Must I leave my savior so?

Not one soul with which to greet him

Must I empty handed go.

When you see a lost young man, will you take him by the hand and lead him to Jesus? Perhaps it is someone close to you. Don’t let the opportunity slip away from you. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Oh generation of lost souls, telling us they are lost either by their actions in the home or publicly. They tell us every day that they are lost in one way or the other. Yet we refuse to listen or to do anything about it until it is too late.

Young man, there is a man name Jesus. God sent him to you and to all the people of the world two thousand years ago to fight the darkness for you. The darkness that blinded you from His marvelous and amazing grace and love for you. This Jesus is God’s Son. God so loved the whole world that He gave his only begotten Son that all who believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus’ love is the only love that will satisfy your hunger for the love you seek. His love is the only love they will quench your thirst for the love you seek.

Jesus fought to satisfy your hunger for love. He fought to quench your thirst for the love you seek. In the process of fighting for you cruel men hung him on a cross that should have been yours. But he willingly allowed them to nail him to that cross in your place. He never did anything wrong. He never shot and killed anyone. He only did good things in the world. He healed those who sentenced him to death, he healed those who pierced him with swords, he healed those who beat him with whips into a bloody mess and nailed him to the cross.  He did it for you young man. Jesus died for you.

He was wounded for your transgressions – your sins, he was crushed for your iniquities – all the bad things you did. He took upon himself the punishment – the beatings that made you whole, and by his bruises – his wounds he healed you. Isaiah 53:5.

Young man, you are wounded, crushed by rejections that may have affected your life. You seek the approval of people and did not receive it. Even though you needed love from those around you, those to whom you reached out, and though you may have felt neglected by your earthly parents your heavenly father never rejected nor abandon you. He loves you. He sent his Son Jesus, to tell you how much God loves you. Jesus will show you genuine love and mercy. Jesus died to heal you everywhere you hurt.

Where are you hurting now? Give your pain to Jesus. Lay your burdens on Him; that is what he is there for.  He left his Word in the Bible for you. You can read it for yourself, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30. 

Yes young man, Jesus’ burden is light and when you give him your burdens, He will lavish on you his everlasting and immeasurable love. Jesus’ love will remove your pain everywhere you hurt and set you free from your pain and hurt. You will experience new life in Him.

You have tried everything. Will you try Jesus?

Young man, will you try Jesus?

Let us pray:

Jesus, I heard that you can take away the darkness from my heart.

I heard you can take away the pain, the hurt I feel. If you can take away my pain, my hurt, I am willing to give them up to you. Jesus, please take away my heavy burden, the hate and the rage I feel. Please replace the darkness of hate and rage with your love. Please change my life. Give me a new life in you. Forgive me for those I hurt. You said your yoke is easy and your burden is light. So please take my yoke and my burden and give me yours instead. Jesus, come into my life and be Lord of my life. I pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.   

HIS LOVE HAS NO LIMIT

HE GIVETH MORE GRACE

“He giveth more grace, when the burdens grow greater
He sendeth more strength, when the labor increase
To added affliction, He added His mercy
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace

 His love has no limit
His grace has no measure
His power has no boundaries
Known unto man
For all of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth and giveth again

When we have exhausted our store of endurance
When our strength has failed and the day is half done
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father forgiving has only begun

His love has no limit
His grace has no measure
His power has no boundaries
Known unto man
For all of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.”

WHEN YOU PASS THROUGH THE WATERS

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. . .Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you,. . .Do not fear, for I am with you." Isaiah 43:2-5  

GIVE THANKS

Out of God’s limitless possibilities of creation, He chose you. God chose to create you. You are amazingly and wonderfully created. Will you walk into a worship service tomorrow morning and just look up at the ‘cross in the back’ or hanging from the church ceiling and just say, “Thank you  God for choosing me.”   

GRAY SKIES

Is the sky bleak and rainy in your part of the world today? Don’t let that prevent you from getting out and enjoying every moment of the day. There is beauty in the bleakly skies and there is beauty in the rain, you just need to find it. When you find it take in every moment of it. If you didn’t find beauty simply count your blessings.

THE WONDERS OF THE PRESENT

Life is lived in its fullness when you live in the present, taking in every moment of the day. See the beauty that comes in each moment. Ask “what can I learn” in those moments that seems challenging. The beauty of the day and the challenges of the day will keep you strong, balanced, and ready for tomorrow.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Mothers, on your Mother's Day may you enjoy every moment of the day. Remember, there are no perfect moms. Some of us have pushed through the societies and world around us and made it through with our children to the best of our abilities. Some mothers are still pushing through, and heading towards the finish line of some sorts. Some Mothers are halfway through and some are just beginning. Where ever you are on the journey, give yourselves a pat on the shoulder you did good. You are doing good. If you think you could have done more, don't fret. In the end everything will settle in its rightful place. Happiness and healing will come.

ENCOURAGEMENT

If you live in the past you cannot move on to live in the present and lay hold of your God given dreams. But if you live in the present you can look forward to even greater things God has in store for you and lay hold of it. Take in and engage in this beautiful day.

Each day given to you live in the present and take in every moment of the day. Participate in the beauty of God’s creation

Live in the present of the day and take in every moment of it.

Live life to the fullest and live it in Christ

ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT

One day I was watching TV, and a religious program came on. The Host had a guy on his program to talk about how God reveals miraculous things to him. The young man talked about himself, and his visions from God. He also made reference that he and his religious group of people were God special people from Isaac. Then he referred to another religious group as not being special to God, and came from Ishmael. Both the host and the guest were professing God to be their heavenly Father, who loves them and their religious group over all others.

Jesus was telling a parable to his disciples in which he told them that a blind person cannot lead a blind person, because they both will fall into a pit (Luke 6:39). Religion and religious people cannot accept Jesus Christ as Lord. If they do, they would have to accept the fact that God is no respecter of persons or religious groups, and that all people are equal in God’s sight and equally special to God. Religious groups claiming superiority would have to accept the fact that Jesus Christ died for the whole world – for all people, nations and languages, regardless of who you are. This would remove any partiality and superiority of any people over the other. And the Bible said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life John 3:16. The Law, OT, Torah or Pentateuch tells us “The LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. Deuteronomy 10:17.  

There is a notion that some people are special or partial to God because they are Abraham’s children or Abraham’s descendants. This is not a truthful notion for any modern day people or religious groups to harbor in their hearts.   So many Christians and other religious groups promote such lack of Biblical knowledge. Promoting the idea that one religious group of people belongs to Abraham and is more special to God than another is a way for that group to make itself superior to all the rest of God's people. It is clear that this is not the nature or character of God our heavenly Father to be partial.

The Law, Old Testament Bible, the Pentateuch, or Torah, opens to us the knowledge of the first people on earth beginning with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in the Book of Genesis. Genesis also tells about the wickedness of humanity and how God had to cleanse the earth with water from a flood leaving Noah and his family a total of eight people in the world. Some people believe that there were other people in the world at that time; however, I would like to believe what the scriptures have to say about the subject. Perhaps there were others, but I cannot stipulate on my own recognizance. The Old Testament tells us that from Noah’s descendants came Abraham who hailed from Mesopotamia, which is now called modern Iraq. Well, this Abraham married Sarai who had a name change from God. Her name was changed to Sarah. So God called Abraham who also had a name changed from Abram to Abraham. Both Abraham and Sarah were called to become a prototype people for God. And through their faithfulness and obedience they would become the father and mother of the whole people of the earth. They did indeed bring forth many families. Abraham and Sarah died and their family line continued to be God’s prototype. They were to be sort of ambassadors for God. However, just like Adam and Eve sin continued to plague them. Abraham had many children. However, his Son Isaac was the one God called to continue Abraham’s work as a prototype people or ambassador for God.  Isaac died and Jacob was the son called by God to continue to carry on as a prototype people or ambassador for God. Jacob had twelve sons and like Adam and Eve, and the others, they were also plagued with sin. Jacob sons had a brother named Joseph whom they sold into slavery in Egypt.

While Joseph was in captivity, he became second in authority to Pharaoh in Egypt. A famine made way for Joseph’s whole family to come to Egypt on the request of Joseph. Later on, when they had a new Pharaoh they were held captive and enslaved by the new Pharaoh. God’s prototype group of people was taken captive in Egypt, but God would still work God’s purpose.

These people were a tribal group from Jacob and his twelve sons. I am sure he had daughters also. Although these people were called Hebrews, they did not belong to any religious group. They were simply called ‘Israelites’ or ‘the children of Israel.’ The Israelites were never called Jews, Christians or Catholics. Hebrew was the original language of the ancient Israelites. Hebrew is also the original language of the Old Testament. They were called the children of Israel or Israelites, because the God of Heaven had changed Jacob, their father’s name from Jacob to ‘Israel.’ Jacob got his name when he was hiding from his brother Esau. Jacob was camping out alone one night. Perhaps it was in a dream, and he found himself wrestling with a man or angel until daybreak. The man could not overpower Jacob so he touched Jacob in his hip and weakened him. Jacob would not let the man go even at the man’s request. It was then that the man blessed Jacob and changed his name by telling him that his name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because Jacob struggled with God and with men and  have overcome.


The ancient Israelites or Hebrews were neither Jews, Christians, Catholics nor any other religious groups. The Hebrew language of the Israelites was called the "language of Canaan." (Isaiah 19:18). Ancient Hebrew is a member of the Canaanite family of languages. Canaanite is known from the second millennium B.C. in transcriptions into Egyptian or in the cuneiform of the el-Amarna Tablets. Other Canaanite dialects from the first millennium are Phoenician and Moabite and probably Edomite and Ammonite. The Canaanite language are part of the Semitic language called after SHEM. 
In the mid-sixth century and later the first religion called the Jewish Religion used Aramaic, a family of the Hebrew language in their contacts with the society around them since it was the international language of the Persian Empire. However, they had to use the Hebrew language, to discuss religious matters, even through the Greco-Roman period. (Bible Dictionary by Paul J. Achetemeier)  
All these Israelites have died off. Hebrews 11:9 says, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth . . .   they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.  By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son. Abraham considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back.”
The Hebrew language of the Israelites was called the "language of Canaan." (Isaiah 19:18).
(HarperCollins Bible Dictionary by Paul J. Achetemeier)

How profound it is. God had given prototypes not for people to use to make themselves, religiously superior, or to make one nation feel superior over another. God gave prototypes to be examples for us to pattern our lives after. They were given so that we could also learn from their mistakes and not repeat them. However, some religious groups not only pattern their religious lives after people of the Old Testament, but they try to become the people of the Old Testament (OT). Worst of all, instead of learning to follow the good and avoid the bad they carry out even the very mistakes that led the Israelite prototype into bondage, and on to becoming a lost people, a ‘lost sheep of the house of Jacob.’  The ancient Israelites people had no religious affiliation. They were just a tribal group of people. They were God’s example to humanity.

Later on Moses, a Hebrew or Israelite boy who was raised in the house of the Egyptian Pharaoh came to be the ‘deliverer’ of God’s prototype people. God’s plan was not yet finished. God wanted to get Jacob or Israel's tribes to a place called Canaan, which was their promised land. This was God’s prototype plan for humanity to learn from. They were going to a earthly promised land. God was showing the human example of a natural journey to a promised land. God showed the sinfulness of humanity on the journey in the earthly life, the disobedience and a way to repent and be forgiven, thus bringing salvation by entering the promise land called Canaan. Canaan was their earthly land of promise, not some special reserve or settlement to which they were to be confined. Did they reach the promise land? A whole generation of people died on the journey due to disobedience and unbelief. Some of their children made it to the promise land of Canaan. However, these wondering disobedient people became a lost generation or lost tribes of people.  The Bible named a handful of people from a couple of tribes. Please let me know the ones you fine in the Scriptures - please shear them with me.

Does their journey resembles the life's journey of humanity today? Yes, without Jesus Christ, like the ancient Israelites, God’s prototype people, we will wonder about in the wilderness of our sin without getting to the promise land, without laying hold of God’s promise of salvation for us.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their families were unable to continue to be God’s prototype, God’s ambassadors. They were just like the ancient priests who were unable to continue offering sacrifices because of sin and death. Thank God, we still have their example in the Old Testament; to follow the right and avoid the wrong. But thank God for the New Covenant, the New Testament. The ancient Israelites were just mere sinful men and women whom God used for God’s purpose. Thank God! The example did not just stop with Jacob of old, but it ended with Jesus Christ the Son of the living God. Jesus is the past, present and future. He is the second Adam. He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end and He lives forevermore.

When Jesus came to the whole world our promised land was fixed once for all times through the blood that He shed on the cross at Calvary. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob knew of this promise land. They knew that they themselves were all just a prototype people of God, going to a temperoral promised land of Canaan. However, as children of God they knew that:

By faith they were not looking for confined settlements, but they were looking forward to a city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Abraham new that he became father of the world because he considered God to be faithful. It was God who made the promise. The Bible tells us that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived by faith until their deaths and yet they did not receive what was promised to them. If they are the fathers of the earthly promised land and they did not receive it, how then will anyone receive a earthly promised land? And a temporary confined settlement is not Canaan. Our earthly Canaan is the whole world sheared freely by every nations, languages and tongues. How awesome! 

God provided a lamb in place of Isaac. Had Isaac been offered up for a sacrifice for sin, the sacrifices would still continue to be offered. Isaac’s blood would not do. It needed the Holy Lamb of God who would go to Calvary’s cross and die for the sins of the whole world once for all. There was a complete work that had to be done to eradicate sin in sinful humanity.

If you believe that God asked Abraham to offer up his only promised son. I said promised son because Abraham had more than one son. If you believe this, why then do you not believe that God offered up His only begotten promised Son Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world? Abraham is the father of the people of the earth, the whole world! So the offering of Isaac would have been on behalf of the people of the whole world. But this offering of Isaac would not do for a sin offering. A sin offering must be free from sin. Only Jesus Christ is free from sin. Jesus Christ is and was the only sin offering that would do and will do.

When God sent Jesus to earth, Jesus stated his position. He stated why he was sent to earth.  Jesus told his disciples that he was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel Matthew 15:24. The Matthew Gospel tells us about a woman from Canaan who came to Jesus crying and begging Jesus to heal her daughter who was tormented by demon. The disciples felt disdain for the woman and wanted Jesus to drive her away. Jesus on the other hand, was overcome with compassion for the woman. It was at that moment that Jesus responded to his disciples, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." The woman then came over and knelt at Jesus’ feet begging for help for her daughter. It was at that moment Jesus said, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."  The woman responded, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."  Jesus was overjoyed to see the great faith of the woman and healed her daughter instantly.

In this story, many scholars and historians branded the woman as the Canaanite woman, the ancestral enemies of the people of the first religion, Jesus calling the woman dog, a gentile dog, a Greek, and the lists goes on. What they had missed is that when the disciples disdained the woman, and asked Jesus to drive her away, Jesus reminded them that he came to the lost sheep of the house of ‘Israel.’ The house of Israel were the lost beggars, the oppressed, the downtrodden, the bowed down and the scorned.  They were the lost sheep whose bread was the bread of healing. They were the sick ones who needed a physician, the great physician Jesus Christ the healer. 

However, Jesus was engaged first with the religious group to whom he preached the Gospel, with the hope of opening their spiritually blinded eyes. They were not the sick, they did not need the bread of healing, nor did they need Jesus. They were above the bread of healing. They were a self-righteous religious group of people. It was to this religious group that Jesus told that it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. He told them to go and learn what it means when He said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I have not come to call the righteous, but I have come to call sinners.” Matthew 9:12-13. Jesus made it crystal clear for whom and why he came. He came to the lost sheep of the house of Jacob or Israel.


Ancient Hebrew is a member of the Canaanite family of languages.
Canaanite is known from the second millennium B.C. in transcriptions into Egyptian or in the cuneiform of the el-Amarna Tablets. Other Canaanite dialects from the first millennium are Phoenician and Moabite and probably Edomite and Ammonite. The Canaanite language are part of the Semitic language named after SHEM. (HarperCollins Bible Dictionary by Paul J. Achetemeier)

So, when the disciples who were once of the Jewish Religion with a Jewish mentality disdained the woman, Jesus reminded them that he came for her, the lost sheep of the house of Jacob. She was a Hebrew woman from Canaan. And when Jesus said, “It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.” It was not meant for the woman. It was sort of like when Jesus was teaching his disciples about the hypocrisy of judging others, and he told them to not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw their pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul them.” Matthew 7:6.  Indeed the religious group did trample under foot the gospel Jesus preached to them and they did maul him all the way to the cross.

Jesus knew that the woman from Canaan needed the bread of healing and that she was a lost sheep of the house of Jacob and it was for her that he came. But Jesus had a religious group of people whom he was trying to teach the truth about Word of God, the Old Testament Law or Torah, so that they could take the Good News of the gospel to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But they thought they knew the Law better then Jesus did. They were the righteous group, who thought that Abraham was their father and that made them righteous; too righteous to listen to anything Jesus had to say to them. They did not need Jesus and neither did they need his bread of healing. Thus Jesus was moved with compassion for the Hebrew Canaanite woman and saddened by the wasting of his bread of healing to a group who was self-righteous. While the lost sheep of Jacob from Canaan was begging for what he came to give her. The time for leaving the religious group and go to the lost sheep of Jacob had not yet come.

Remember when Jesus went to a wedding in Cana in Galilee? The wine at the wedding was finished and Jesus' mother Mary, mentioned it to Jesus. Well, Jesus told his mother that his time has not yet come. Jesus always say something to stir-up faith. His mother responded "Do whatever he tells you." Jesus is moved by someone's faith.
When Jesus mentioned that it is a shame to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs instead of giving it to the Hebrew woman from Canaan, it stirred faith in the woman to give her response. "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Matthew 15:27.

After the death of John the Baptist Jesus was released to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and they welcomed him. He sheared the bread of healing freely with them. He cleansed the lepers freely, he opened blind eyes, and set the captives free, healed the crippled and raised up the dead from their graves.  

The ancient prototypes have failed. And Jesus is the new prototype. He is the door through whom all must enter to the Father (John 10:7), whether you are Jews, or gentiles, Greek or Hebrew, bond or free, Christians, non-Christian or Mormons, or whatever religion you are. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and there is no difference.

Romans 3:23-31 tells us, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. God did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle?  On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.  Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.”

Dear ones, sinful humanity can only uphold the law through Christ. Sinful humanity can only uphold the law when the peace of God, the shalom of God comes to them. And peace, shalom is in the Son of God, Jesus Christ your Messiah, Savior and Lord. He is our peace, accept Him, receive Him into your heart as your Messiah, Lord and Savior.

To continue

CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Jesus Christ is risen! Yes, He has risen for the last 2000 years! Sunday will be the second Sunday of Easter! The Gospel of John 20:19-31 points us to the first church and showed them hiding behind locked doors on the day of the resurrection of Jesus. The irony is that the doors of the world were wide open. The world was at the door of Jesus’ grave making sure he stayed dead. But death could not hold him! For the resurrection power was too powerful for death and the world. Jesus rose victoriously over death and the grave! Death and the grave could not keep him from his small congregation of twelve hiding behind closed doors. Yes, they were scared. Yes, they were hiding behind closed doors. Yes, their faith failed them, especially since they witnessed their Pastor, leader, master, and Rabbi brutally taken from them and put to death. Who wouldn't hide! But Jesus Christ was not about to give death and the grave victory over his church. With the resurrection power, He rolled away his grave stone, silenced the world at his grave door, and walked through the locked door of his house church to give the promised ‘peace’ through the Holy Spirit to his small congregation! To rid any doubt from his congregation, Jesus encourages them, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” One member cried out, “My Lord and my God!” Today we can shout Praise God! Praise God! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! The church is alive! And upon this rock, Jesus Christ, the church is built and the gates of hates cannot prevail against it! 
Because of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, the church no longer hides behind locked doors. The church is no longer an inner circle of twelve. It is Christ’s Universal Church, comprised of every nations, languages and tongues. And unites together all around the world through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh what an awesome God! Oh what a savior!!!

THE RESURRECTION POWER

The resurrection power is awesome. It heals the sick, raise the dead, and set the captives free. And that’s what Jesus did all through his ministry. His crucifixion is fresh in our minds. He was crucified, nailed to a cross, because He had the audacity to heal the sick, raise the dead and set captive people free. 

That was part of his purpose in the world and in the church. Jesus had the awesome power to bring to life dead things. He had the audacity to demonstrate the resurrection power by calling his friend Lazarus to come forth from his grave after he had been dead for four days. Not only that when Jesus called Lazarus from the dead, other dead people took advantage of the call and walked away from their graves. 

When God calls the child of God, ordains and sends him or her to go into the world and proclaim the Gospel to all nations, and promise to be with him or her always to the end of the age, God will empower that person with the audacity to set free those who are held captive by sin. 

Jesus instructed bystanders at the grave site of Lazarus to take off the grave clothes off of Lazarus and let him go. Jesus is a friend of sinners, and he wants to remove sin from the sinners lives. The grave cloth is symbolic of the bondage of sin. And God wants to remove the grave cloth of sin with all of its stench and set the sinner free from the grip of sin. 

If you do not yet know Jesus, He is reaching out for you today. If you let him, he will remove your grave cloth of sin and set you free.

As children of God, as church leaders, let us take off from our church grave cloths that hinder and prevent the Holy Spirit from being welcomed in our midst. When grave cloths are removed broken people are made well.

The church is the hospital where Jesus lives and Jesus is famous for removing grave cloths. If you do not know Jesus, He is your friend. And he is calling you like he called his friend Lazarus; He is calling you to come forth from sin and death to a new life in Jesus. 

PENTATEUCH QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Pentateuch Questions and Answers:

What is the Pentateuch? 
The Pentateuch is the first five Books of the Old Testament Bible

What are the names of the first five Books of the Bible called the ‘Pentateuch’?

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Who is the Author of the Pentateuch? 
The answer is Moses

Where does the term Pentateuch comes from?  
It comes from two Greek words:

The Greek word ‘pente’ meaning ‘five’ (5) and

The Greek word ‘teuchos’ meaning ‘volume’ or ‘scroll.’

How does the Jewish religion refer to the Pentateuch or the first five Books of the Bible? 
They refer to it as the Torah

What is another name for Torah? 
Law

Is the word Torah in the Bible? 
No. however, the Scriptures refer to ‘the book of the law of Moses.’

Genesis is referred to as? 
A Book of Beginnings

What does Genesis deals with? 
It deals with:

The world as the habitation of humanity, the origin of the human family, marriage and home life, and civilization (Gen. 1, 2, 4 ).

The ‘fall’ or human sin (Gen. 3)

The promises of redemption (Gen. 3)

Diverse human languages

God’s ‘call’ of Abraham from Haran to the land of Canaan.

The beginning of the twelve tribes of Jacob, or the house of Jacob, or the children of Jacob  

What is another name for the twelve tribes of Jacob? 
The children of Israel

Why was the twelve tribes of Jacob called the children of Israel? 
It was because God changed Jacob’s name from ‘Jacob’ to ‘Israel.’ Thus Jacob and his twelve sons and their children were called ‘the children of Israel.’

Are Jacob’s children of the Jewish Religion? 
No. The Jewish Religion had not yet started.

Did Jacob and his twelve tribes read the Torah? 
No. They are the Torah. They are the Pentateuch. They are the history of the Pentateuch -  the Torah.

Who is the father of Jacob? 
Isaac 

Who is the father of Isaac? 
Abraham

  

What were the names of Jacob twelve (12) sons which made up the twelve tribes or the children of Israel?

Reuben

Simeon

Levi

Judah

Zebulun

Issachar

 Dan

 Gad

 Asher

 Naphtali

 Joseph

Benjamin

Are any of the twelve tribes of Israel alive today? No. The Bible has no record of any of the twelve tribes of Israel who are alive today, and the descendants of the twelve tribes of Jacob seems to be untraceable to the modern worlds.

Does the Bible refer to any relatives of the twelve tribes of Jacob? Yes. The Bible refers to Paul the Apostle as being a descendant of the tribe of Benjamin. Paul was a First Century follower of Christ. (Philippians 3, and Romans 11). Mordecai the adopted father of Hadassah or queen Esther was from the tribe of Benjamin.  

The Bible also refers to Joseph and Mary as being from the descendants of David, who is a descendant of the Tribe of Judah. (Luke 2:4). So, we could trace some Bible characters from the descendant of David, such as Solomon, David's son, who is from the tribe of Judah. Jesus, John the Baptist and his family are from the tribe of Judah. 

BAPTISM

Truth that frees:  

I was Christened or baptized as an infant; and also when I was 9 years old and able to enjoy and experience my baptism in Christ. I did not quite know what to expect or what would happen immediately after my baptism. The only thing I expected, however, was that the joy and anticipation I felt would last forever. I went to church with my parents every Sunday and often during the week. I did not have to be dragged to church, especially since going to church was the highlight of my young life in the Island. Then as I got older I began to take a closer look at some teachings I had heard not only on the topic of baptism but on other topics. Perhaps it was not that I had gotten older, but it was because I had gotten more matured in Christ and in the Word. Yes, I think that’s what it was.

As I got older and began to listen to hundreds of sermons and teachings on baptism I noticed that almost every sermon or teachings have a different interpretation of what one needs to believe about baptism. After a while I began to believe more profoundly on the Scripture verse which reads, “But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.” (Romans 4:4-5). I figured that I had better just stop trying to figure out why the Scriptures have so many different interpretations to the same text, many of them quite far-fetched so to speak. So, I began to read the Bible. I remember once in a matter of days I went through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. I noticed that the more I read was the more I became hungry for more readings and before I knew it I had reached the end of the Good Book, the Bible. Since then, and over the years, I am not easily fooled by interpretations that seemed a bit off from Scriptures, not even interpretations by known scholars. Sometimes, however, I come across the commentary of a scholar who seems to come close to Scriptures on certain topics. However, some scholars and theologians do tend to interpret the Bible to fit their own agendas. So, I read the Bible, weigh my interpretations against other pastors, theologians and scholars, and come up with an answer to the question I seek. 

   

Some people believe for example, that when a person is baptized he should come up out of the waters of his baptism speaking in tongues. This is interpreted as a sign of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Here is the problem, when a new believer is given this kind of information and is expected to come up out of the waters of his baptism speaking in tongues and that does not happen he begins to think that perhaps he is not worthy enough for the Holy Spirit to come and fill him. Here is another problem; the Bible tells us nothing of this sort. Nowhere in the Bible does it say in our baptism, when we come up out of the water we should be speaking in tongues as a sign of being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Bible does tell us, however, that when a person is baptized he is baptized into Christ’s death, and resurrection. Whether we are baptized by sprinkling or by submersion, I believe it’s all the same. Though the Bible seems to point to submersion when describing baptism, I don’t think God, Jesus or the Trinity is going to get picky because there isn’t a pool in the church, an ocean, river or lake nearby to perform the act of submersion and coming up out of the water.  Especially, since these acts are done by faith. In fact, there are several places in the Bible that talks about ‘sprinkling’ of water to make clean or to cleanse from sin i.e. Ezekiel 36:25-27 and Hebrews 10:22-25. We know that baptism is to make clean or to cleanse from sin. 1 Peter 3:21-22 says, “And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.”  

In our baptism when we are submersed or sprinkled, we are buried with Christ as into his death. When come up out of the water, it is as Christ was raised up from the dead. We are to then walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4). We are to live in and through Christ. And if we are in Christ, and Christ is in us we are a new creation. Sinful behaviors, old things are passed away at baptism and everything has become new! (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Bible tells us that John baptized with water for repentance. So baptism is an outward sign that a person has turned away from sin, turn to Christ and is now walking in newness of life in Christ.

I praise my God for the one who comes up from the waters of his baptism speaking in unknown tongues. But I praise my God even more for the one who understands that in baptism he is buried with Christ as into Christ’s death and is raised up with Christ as Christ was raised up from the dead, and is now a new person in Christ Jesus. Paul affirms our baptism by saying, “ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” 
Romans 6:6. 

The Bible is clear in letting us know that John baptized with water for repentance. (Matthew 3:11). So, baptism is an outward sign that a person has turned away from sin, turn to Christ and is now walking in newness of Life in Christ. Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and Fire. We see that the Trinity was present in the Father, in Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit like a Dove at Jesus’ baptism. So, it is a possibility that Jesus was baptized not only with a water baptism but also with a baptism of the Holy Spirit and Fire. Although the Bible tells us that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit after his baptism, nowhere did it say Jesus spoke in unknown tongues after he came up out of the water. Another problem is that in the same way John personally baptized the people in the waters of the Jordan, it is in the same way Jesus had to personally but spiritually baptize people in the Holy Spirit and Fire. And according to Scriptures he did this after his resurrection from the dead. John 4:2 tells us that Jesus himself did not baptize anyone throughout his ministry; it was Jesus’ disciples who baptized the converts of Jesus.

In John 20:22, we learned that Jesus, after his resurrection, appeared to his disciples while they were hiding out in a house for fear of their lives. When Jesus saw them he greeted them saying, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” After that Jesus breathed on his disciples and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  This was the first sign that Jesus baptized his disciples with the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ baptism is not with water as John’s baptism. Jesus’ baptism is a spiritual one involving the Trinity – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father sent Jesus to the world, Jesus breath on the disciples and sent them to go into the world, and the Holy Spirit lit them afire and empowers them for ministry. When Jesus breathed on the disciples to receive the Holy Spirit after his resurrection, he still needed to complete what the Father sent him to do. He needed to finish the work of the Holy Spirit by baptizing them with the Fire of the Holy Spirit. This would take place after Jesus’ Ascension to heaven.

Luke tells us in Acts 1 that Jesus gave an order to his disciples not to leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father. Because they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them and they will be witnesses for Jesus in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. After Jesus told this to his disciples they watched him ascended or taken up into heaven by a cloud (Acts 1:9).

On the Day of Pentecost the twelve disciples and others gathered in an upstairs room in Jerusalem. While they were praying, suddenly, a sound like violent wind came from heaven and filled the room where they were sitting. And what seemed like fire rested on each of them and each began to speak in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them ability. There were about fifteen different nations of people present. Each heard the disciples spoke to them in the language they knew. Some people today interpret this to mean a heavenly language in which all the disciples spoke one language and God mysteriously enables each nation to hear the spoken word in their own language. If that is your interpretation, I do not see anything wrong with that. Some believe that the disciples spoke different languages and the Holy Spirit mysteriously enabled the hearers to hear their own language without any form of confusion.. Although all spoke a different language at the same time each nation only heard their own language without confusion.  If this is your interpretation, I see nothing wrong with it either. Feel free to interpret what happen on the day of Pentecost. The mysteries of God have many interpretations by us humans. But blessed are those who did not see or hear and yet believe, and the just shall live by faith (John 20:29, Hebrews. 10:38).

The event caused many who were gathered to be perplexed as to what had happened. But Brother Peter, one of the Apostles explained it all to them. Afterward he impressed upon them to repent, and get baptized in the name of Jesus Christ so that their sins may be forgiven; and they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In line with Peter’s explanation or witness to the people, we see that Peter invited the people to get baptized in Jesus’ baptism and receive forgiveness of sin, and they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  So, we see here that the gift of the Holy Spirit is received only in Jesus’ baptism. But Jesus’ baptism is not by water it is by the Spirit. Therefore, the idea of speaking in tongues coming up from the waters of our baptism does not seem in order. It does seem however, that Jesus’ baptism is a sanctifying process. To be sanctified is to be set apart, to dedicate one’s life to the service of God. The disciples were baptized in John’s baptism, which is by water. They were then set apart or sanctified for God’s service, and after that they were baptized in Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit and Fire.  So, this was a sanctifying process. This is not to say a believer cannot speak in tongues coming up out of the water since God can do anything and all things, but seeking to give an accurate account of Scriptures to new believers may save them from disappointments and discouragements.

Peter also told the perplexed believers present at Pentecost that the promise of ‘baptism’ is also for their children and those far away (Acts 2:38-40). Peter affirms to the hearers at Pentecost,

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-- for all whom the Lord our God will call (Acts 2:38-41).

These words spoken by Peter lay to rest any skepticisms of baptizing children.Contrary to what a majority of Christians believe, the promise of baptism is given for all children also, and the Apostle Peter declared it on the day of Pentecost. We may well give heed to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “ All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” Why would God bless grown-ups with the promise of baptism and exclude children? This is not the nature of God. The promise of baptism is given to all people and children are people too. Baptism is the ‘means of grace’ through which the Holy Spirit comes to us. Which is why Peter declared, “Repent and be baptized. . . And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  And children are participants of this wonderful means of grace through which the Holy Spirit comes to them. After all children are people too. John declared, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” This promise is for children too, all children. If we as believers, believe that children including babies cannot believe in Jesus Christ for themselves, then we must believe for them and nurture them into the promise of their Baptism. This is what it means to bring the children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4.

I have heard people say that children are not able to understand sin and confess. So they must wait until they do, in order to get baptized. Then we do not believe the Bible that the promise of baptism is for children too, all children. Therefore, we do not believe in the mystery of God. We are saying this wonderful means of grace that God has given to all people, which must include children, the children are hereby excluded, simply because we do not understand the great mystery of God. We think the children cannot ask forgiveness for themselves so they are not forgiven? Or do we think there is no sin in children to be forgiven? David declared in Psalm 51:5:
NRS, “Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.”

NIV, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

KJV, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

Baptism is for the forgiveness of sin and for receiving the kingdom of heaven, which is the shalom -, the peace of God in Christ Jesus. We are sinful from birth. Therefore, why would anyone deprive a child from this promise unless there is a lack of knowledge? Hosea declared God’s Word saying, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge . . .” (Hosea 4:6). The same benefit we received from our baptism as adults is the same benefit our children are promised through Jesus Christ. If we believe that we are the ones issuing God’s grace then God’s grace will be limited to us and our children. So, since we have no control over God’s grace, let us agree with Peter on this one also, that children are entitled to the promise of baptism. 

When John the Baptist attempted refusal to baptize Jesus, Jesus shut up the loop-hole where there could have been one. But Jesus saved the day when he declared to John that his baptism must take place to fulfill all righteousness (Matt. 3:15). Because of that we have all the elements of baptism in Jesus’ baptism. He had to fulfill in himself all righteousness, and secured all the elements of baptism by water and by the Holy Spirit and Fire. Thus decreasing John’s name and proclaiming the name of Jesus. John also declared, “I must decrease and Jesus must increase.” This made it possible for Peter to declare a baptism in Jesus. Our baptism is fulfilled in Jesus Christ who is seated at the right hand of the Father in the Trinity.

After Jesus’ resurrection all authority was given back to him. So as he sends his disciples with the Gospel he tells them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18).  Jesus would have the final say as to how a convert would be baptized. John 13:16 tells us that the servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.” Jesus has the final word, not Peter. 
The peace of the Lord be with you. Amen.

The Breaker-down of Barriers

John 4:5-42                              SERMON

Sermon Title:  Jesus the breaker down of barriers

By: Pastor Salome Pathak

Jesus’ mission was to break down barriers, to take down barriers between people; whether it be spiritual, cultural or ethnic barriers. We still have some of those same barriers today. And Jesus came to break them down, and to set up the reign of God – the shalom of God in Christ Jesus. [Shalom means peace. The reign of God is God active in community, here now - Emanuel - God through Jesus Christ with us now] He seeks to bring about the wellness – the wholeness of broken people. His aim is to bring peace, shalom to lives, ravaged by sin, brokenness, worries, and sicknesses in a way that no other Rabi can.

The preceding verses in this Gospel, indicates to us that it could have been an argument from some religious leaders in Jesus’ day about why was Jesus making and baptizing more disciples than John that caused Jesus to leave Judea, and go to Galilee. I believe Jesus loved being in Galilee because the people of Galilee were receptive to him. It was packed with people who did not know the rules of the law. And even if they did I don’t think it mattered to them. This made them receptive to Jesus. And I think Jesus like that very much. The Galileans wanted to hear what Jesus had to say to them. So I could understand how when Jesus got tired of listening to the squabbles among the religious leaders, he would want to escape to a place that was more receptive to the Gospel.

But there was one problem getting to Galilee. Jews and Samaritans did not mix. So, whenever Rabbis or priests were going to Galilee they would take a journey around Samaria, just so that they could avoid having an encounter with Samaritans. It would take them (6) days to get to Galilee, whereas, if they were to go through Samaria it would only take them 3 days. But Jesus was about mission, he was about reaching out to people, not just the Jews, but to all kinds of people - hurting people, broken people, sick people, rich people and poor people. Jesus was a missional Rabi, a missional priest! He was and is the breaker-down of barriers. And I believe Jesus had every intention to go through Samaria on his way to Galilee. And no doubt it was a refreshing change for him. I believe that Jesus knew that when he made the decision to go through Samaria, something beautiful would happen there.

On the road to Galilee just before getting to Sychar the road to Samaria branches off into a fork. And right at that fork lays Jacob’s well – still there today

Jesus was tired out from his journey and he sat down near the well to get some rest, while his disciples went into the city to buy some food. It was unnatural for any Jewish person or persons to be seen in the city of Samaria even to buy food. But Jesus’ disciples went go get food in the city of Samaria. Something happened to change that. They were in the company of the breaker-down of barriers! Jesus had changed his disciples’ way of thinking.

There was an aged old quarrel between Jews and Samaritans and Jesus’ mission was to break down that barrier. This quarrel started when the Assyrians invaded the northern kingdom of Samaria, captured it, conquered it, and transported most of its people to a place  called Media (2 Kings 17:6). The Assyrians brought in other people from Babylon and from other places, to Samaria. The remaining Samaritans began to intermarry. So the Jews believed that the Samaritans had committed an unforgivable crime. To the Jews the Samaritans had lost their racial purity.

Not so long ago, in the United States and other parts of the world, people were captured and forced to become slaves to others.  And the stain and stigma of slavery still haunt many of God’s precious people to this very day.   They are still being oppressed by the idea that they were slaves, by the mere color of their skin and by their country of origin. It was through no fault of their own, and yet to this day they are being stereotyped and discriminated against even in the churches.

      But the breaker-down of barriers was not and is not about race or racial purity.  He was not and is not about the religious Jews or Samaritans. And today He is not about whether we are black, white, Hispanics, Muslims, Christians or other. No, no! Jesus was and is about people, he is about community. Jesus was and is a missional Jesus and Messiah - one who brought salvation to the human race. One who reaches out the bowed down, to the one who is hurting, to the one who has an issue.  And he trained his disciples to be missional disciples, to be about the mission of binding up wounds and touching lives in a positive way. He trained his disciples to follow His example and to go into all the world and become breakers-down of barriers. They were not just to stay in their own little circle of believers, or in their own little community, but to go into all the world and care for all people. Jesus calls us to go into all the world and care for those who are different from us, care for those who speak a language that is different from ours, and to proclaim to them the Gospel of Christ – the good news of repentance and baptism.  And Jesus has promised to be with us always, even to the end of the age.

 THE DIALOGUE:

      The Gospel tells us today that while Jesus was sitting by the well at Sychar a

Woman came there to draw water. Jesus asked the woman to draw him some water from the well so he could drink. The woman was puzzled, so she asked Jesus ‘I am a Samaritan and you are a Jew’ and yet you ask me for a drink?   

Perhaps it was one of the few times in this woman’s life that she found someone with whom she could talk. To her Jesus seemed sympathetic, warm and inviting. She could see kindness in his eyes. She saw in Jesus someone who did not feel himself to be superior or critical of her. And she did not feel condemned by Jesus but instead she felt understood. She felt as though she had met a friend.  

The woman’s long walk to the well at Sychar was not in vain. She met a Rabi friend who was the breaker- down of barriers. One who would break down the barrier between her and those in her community who were critical of her.

When Jesus tells the woman, “I will give you living water and when you drink it you will never be thirsty. It will become in you a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” In her narrow thinking, she asked Jesus, Sir, give me this water that I may never be thirsty. As if to say - I don’t want to have to come all this way to Sychar to draw water and I can’t go to the well in my village, because I am considered to be the moral outcast.  So, not having to become thirsty ever again – would be perfect for me! But Jesus, the breaker-down of barriers, would not quit until the woman came face to face with truth. Jesus asked her to fetch her husband and come back with him. And suddenly she caught sight of herself. She was compelled to come face to face with herself and the inadequacy of her life. So are we today, when Jesus comes to us, we come face to face with our own inadequacy.

We see also in the previous chapter of John’s Gospel, how Necodemus, a leader of the Jews, he also came face to face with Jesus, when he came to Jesus by night to find out how he can receive salvation. But he was ashamed to be seen in public with the breaker-down of religious barriers, Jesus the Christ. And when he met up with Jesus, Jesus had to chip away at his way of thinking until he came face to face with the inadequacies of his life. Yes, when we meet up with Jesus we come face to face with our inadequacies. We realize that we are helpless to help ourselves, we are helpless to save ourselves, and we must throw ourselves in the arms of the breaker-down of our barriers. We must come into the presence of God, with a broken spirit.  And like David we need to cry out, “Create in me a clean heart O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. (Psalm 51). 

The breaker-down of barriers did not take sides with Samaritans or Jews. He always seek to restore the outcast and the ostracized to community, to lift up the bowed down, and walk in solidarity with those who are oppressed.

Jesus ignored an ancient cultural feud just to save the woman at the well. He touched her life in a way that she was never the same again.  When Jesus touched her life, she forgot that she was ostracized or an outcast from community. With the joy of being set free, she ran back to her community and told them about Jesus. She invited them to come to Jesus the Messiah who changed her life. They did come to Jesus and their lives were changed.

What Jesus did for the woman at the well, he did for the woman’s oppressors. The breaker-down of barriers, lifted up the woman’s head, put a spring in her steps and joy in her heart. What Jesus has done for her he can do for us if we come to him and put our trust in him. Amen.