The Battle of Mt. Carmel was a showdown for the ages.  Elijah was about to stand up against the wicked King Ahab.  That was tough enough.  He had the power to kill Elijah.  That is why it took Elijah 3 years to stand before him.  But the question I have for you is would you have been tough enough to stand up to the 650 prophet of Baal and Asherah.  That would have been much tougher.  One on one maybe, but one on 650?  That took guts.  And to challenge them at this dual and putting yourself at a disadvantage as well (with the water).  That was true faith.

The Battle of Mt. Carmel was a showdown for the ages.  Elijah was about to stand up against the wicked King Ahab.  That was tough enough.  He had the power to kill Elijah.  That is why it took Elijah 3 years to stand before him.  But the question I have for you is would you have been tough enough to stand up to the 650 prophet of Baal and Asherah.  That would have been much tougher.  One on one maybe, but one on 650?  That took guts.  And to challenge them at this dual and putting yourself at a disadvantage as well (with the water).  That was true faith.

This is posted a few days later than usual since I was out of the office the first part of the week.  But I want to go back to our topic on Sunday about Hell.  Jesus was given power over hell by breaking it’s chains and claiming victory over sin and the grave.  Because of that we never need to fear hell and death again.  If we trust in Jesus’ power, including the power over Hell, we will live forever with him.  This is why we too can say, “O death, where is your victory, O death where is your sting!” (1 Cor 15:55)  We have the power and the victory with Christ.  It no longer has a claim on us.  It can no longer overwhelm us.  We have hope that cannot be taken away.  Praise the Lord!

Mothers are truly a blessing.  And the way God created females with their gifts, tendencies, graces, etc. is remarkable.  We should never take for granted those who love us like mothers.  And I hope that all the mothers out there felt special yesterday.  And as I shared yesterday that God even has some feminine characteristics.  But that might be looking at this a bit backward.  Because it is some of the qualities of God and his image in which females are given those “feminine” qualities.  So I should not say that God has feminine qualities but females have God-like qualities.  So whether you have been created male of female, thank God for the qualities of Himself that he has put uniquely in you and your gender.

We are now in the month of May.  Things are starting to grow outside.  But my question this week is are you growing on the inside?  Are you a May Christian?

Hallelujah.  Jesus rose from the grave.  He rose a victor from the dark domain and he lives forever with his saints to reign.  Praise the Lord.  We have so much hope due to this fact.  Easter is the proof of Jesus’ divinity and points to our victory over death.  We no longer have to fear death.  Because death is not the end.  The same power that raised from the dead will change our mortal bodies so that they will be like his glorious body (Phil 3:21).  So let us rejoice and worship this God who reconciles us to himself and follow the Savior who laid down is life for ours.

The passion week of Christ (the week before Easter) celebrates the events (and more) that I shared on Sunday.  Jesus went through a lot that week.  I hope you spend some time this week reading and remembering these stories that give us hope.

The story of the lyrics behind “It is Well with my Soul” is very sad.  H. G. Spafford lost a lot before penning these words and yet the story of this song does not end there.  Spafford went on to have three more children.  But sadly another of his sons died before age 5.  Philip Bliss who wrote the tune behind the words also met with tragedy.  While he and his wife was traveling by train to a D. L. Moody revival, their train tipped over while crossing a bridge and plunged 50 feet to a firey and twisted wreck.  Philip Bliss was able to escape the crumpled mess but going back to look for his wife found that she was trapped in the tangled medal.  Not wanting to leave his wife’s side, he burned alive holding on to her hand.  7 lives were loss in connection with this song.  Fortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Bliss, at the last minute, decided to leave their two young boys at home before boarding the doomed train.  Yet even in such tragedy, the message of hope in the song still rings true, “even so, it is well with my soul”.