Wednesday's Word of Truth

Based on: Isaiah 32:3-4(MSG)  Anyone who looks will see, anyone who listens will hear. Excerpt: The repression and suppression of traumatic experiences can have destructive consequences. It is like a wound that goes unattended. It may develop a scab that gives the appearance of healing, but under the scab there may be a festering infection.

Based on: Isaiah 32:3-4 (MSG) Anyone who looks will see, anyone who listens will hear. The impulsive will make sound decisions, the tongue-tied will speak with eloquence. Excerpt:  The sad reality is that other than news about vaccination rates, there is very little being said about the pandemic, its pearls and its perils. The pandemic blessed us in ways that we did not expect. It also robbed...

Based on: Romans 6:6 (GNT)   And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on his cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin. Excerpt: It is one thing to be at the foot of the cross. It is something else to be “on his cross.” Having been drawn there by His decision to die in our place. We finally ge...

Based on : 1 Corinthians 16:5-7 (NIV) After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you---for I will be going through Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. Excerpt: All too often life surrounds...

Based on: I Corinthians 16:5-9 After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you---for I will be going through Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost...

Based On : Acts 2:1-4 (NIV) When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Sp...

Based on: Acts 1:8 “…But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Excerpt: The process of ministry that Jesus demonstrates is so easy that it tends to confound those who need the works of God to be complicated. Yet, for someone who is familiar with the ways of God, the process t...

Based on: Acts 1:8   “…But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Excerpt: A congregation that is built on “empty works” will soon begin to see its attendance dwindle. This is because empty works that are void of Holy Spirit cannot provide the spiritual nutrients that are...

Based on: First Corinthians 16:8-9 (NIV)  But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door of effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me. Excerpt: My sisters and brothers I am not so sure, but I do know that like the Apostle Paul, God has opened a great door of opportunity for us. Yes, there is much opposition all around us, but a new Pentecost is on...

Based on: Luke 24:44-49 (NIV) 44 Then he said to them, “These are the very things I told you about while I was still with you: everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the writings of the prophets, and the Psalms had to come true.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “This is what is written: the Messiah must suffer and must rise from death thre...

Based on: Luke 24:13-16 (NIV)  13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. 16 But God kept them from recognizing him. Excerpt: I have always found tha...

Based on : John 3:16 (NIV) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Excerpt: Let love arise. For the enemy of heaven has been defeated. Let love arise. For the accuser has been cast down. Let love arise. For the forces of hell have been silenced. Let love arise. For the prince of darkness has been dethroned....

Based on: Luke 19:37a (NIV)  When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives… Excerpt: Beloved, God sees you right where you are. God has you at the center of heaven’s radar and God is tracking the trajectory of your trials. God has dispatched special forces to what you perceive to be your failing functions. God has assigned Angels on point and on purpose to your pred...

Based on:  Luke 19:39-40 (NIV) Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”  “I tell you, “He replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Excerpt: As Jesus approaches Jerusalem those who had seen the miracles he had performed, and no doubt those who had just heard about his mighty works; began to praise God. The whole crowd began to prai...

Based on John 12:1-3 (NIV) Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house...

Based on :   John 4:4 (NIV)   Now he had to go through Samaria. Excerpt: In essence, Jesus asks the woman to give back to Him what He and God the Creator had given to her. That is the gift of life itself.  At first, the woman avoids Jesus’ request by offering a litany of excuses. This forces Jesus to cut to the marrow of the bone of her brokenness. This reveals to her the truth...

Based on John 7:41-42 (NIV) Others said, “He is the Christ.” Still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee.  Does not the scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Excerpt: I believe that when our lives become an everyday Bethlehem, we provide the opportunity for the Christ of God to be born in our world over and o...

 Based on : Exodus 2:23b (NIV) The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. Excerpt: From generation to generation Black families have passed on their stories, rituals, and recipes. We have maintained our ancestral traditions of celebration and mourning. We have welcomed strangers who had no kin. Like vines we grafted t...

Based on: Psalm 74:11 (NIV) Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them! Excerpt: This truth helped me to remember that just because I cannot see the right hand of God does not mean that it is not at work. I have come to believe that a byproduct of godly wisdom must be active empowered patience. To know the ways of God is to act on the b...

Based on : Joshua 1:1-2 (NIV) After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide:   “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. Excerpt : We still have a long way to go, but we have come a long way from where we have been. Just like...

Based on: I Samuel 3:10 (NIV) The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel, Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” Excerpt: Beloved, our relationship with Jehovah God ought to be built on this kind of expectant trust. A trust that when all hell has broken out in our lives, and we have done all that we can do, God will step in and take the lead....

Based on Philippians 3:13-14 (CEB) 13 Brothers and sisters, I myself don’t think I’ve reached it, but I do this one thing: I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me. 14 The goal I pursue is the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus. Excerpt: Herein lies the beauty of salvation through Jesus Christ.  What Jesus did on Calvary’s cross opened the way to he...

Based on :   Acts:9:18 (NIV) Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and he was baptized… Excerpt: This is what happens when we release the pain of a suffering past. We are then set free to envision a new life in a new way. Every scale that has blocked our vision falls away and we are immersed in the redemptive, restorative, waters of a...

Based on :  Exodus 14:13b (NIV)   The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. Excerpt: Unwelcomed memories tend to blind-side us. They show up in routine activities like driving, taking a shower, and washing dishes. All of a sudden out of what appears to be nowhere comes the rush of a painful memory of the past. A dark foreboding feeling often accompanies the unwelcomed intrude...

Based on: Exodus 14:13b - The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. (NIV) Acts: 9:18 - Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and he was baptized… (NIV) Philippians 4:14 - I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (NIV) Excerpt:  Life has taught us that “reaching” is more...