Joy was at the Cross

NO Joy … NO Forgiveness

In Hebrews we find, “Having our eyes fixed on Jesus, the guide and end of our faith, who went through the pains of the cross, not caring for the shame, because of the joy which was before him, and who has now taken his place at the right hand of God's seat of power.”

I was at the cross in the heart of Jesus. You were at the cross in the heart of Jesus. The potential of a restored relationship between Daddy and me and you is the source of Jesus' Joy.

The prayer of Jesus on the cross was, “Father forgive them...”, (remember Jesus only said what the Father was saying). It is life of Jesus upon the cross that is our source of forgiveness. Forgiveness should be accompanied with Joy. The example of forgiveness on the cross is we should have Joy before we can say, “Father forgive them.” Joy was at the cross.

NO Joy … NO Forgiveness … NO Love.

It is not forgiveness if there is no Joy. Joy came first before the cross in the garden for Jesus and we need to find it in a garden like place before we can forgive.

Joy is not the result of forgiving, forgiving is the result of Joy.

There was an exchange in the garden, pain and shame were exchanged for Joy. So much Joy was given that the agony that resulted in the sweating of blood was as nothing. The pain and shame suffered by Jesus for the next several hours were considered also as nothing.

Paul had this same attitude and expressed it in his letter to the Philippians 3:8, ‘Yes truly, and I am ready to give up all things for the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, which is more than all: for whom I have undergone the loss of all things, and to me they are less than nothing, so that I may have Christ as my reward.’

Not just Paul but Jimmy had the same attitude. James 1:2 My brothers and sisters, you will face all kinds of trouble. When you do, think of it as pure joy. Is not a hurt, an injury, a slanderous comment temptations of anger opportunities to choose JOY?

An Abandoned Child

Vision / Dream:

While in prayer one day for the church I attend, I saw a young child (4-5 years of age) in a dark room. (It was as a stage set with the front wall and ceiling removed.) The room was sparsely furnished and I was not sure if it was a living room or dining room, the colors were all dark. The child was the focus of the vision, but in the room, nearly hidden in the darkness, were the child’s parents. They paid no attention to the child as they argued. The atmosphere was filled with chaos, confusion, anger and fear that the parents were creating.

The Lord was by my side and He instructed me to watch the child. I watched as fear overwhelmed the child. Surrounded and trapped, the child was forced to surrender to the fear. Abandonment, rejection replaced joy in the child’s heart.

The Lord’s heart was crying in torrents.

End

Prayer:

For many days I prayed about this vision and I was impressed that chaos, confusion and fear were a regular part of life for the child for the next 12 – 15 years. The child had no security and had no one to rely on. The child never learned to trust.

I prayed Lord, “Why? Why, could you not help?”
He told me, “Nobody wanted me to help!”

During days of prayer I got the profound sense that the Lord wanted me to know in my heart what His heart was for this abandoned child and feel how He feels about the child still imprisoned in an older body. The devil had stolen the child’s humanity. Instead of a human-being what remained was a human-doer.

Release of the vision:

One evening as I was running an errand, I drove along School House Road I heard, sensed the Lord saying it is time to release the vision. I drove a little bit further down the hill and passed someone whose car was broken down beside the road. It was across the street from the beaver pond. There was a friend in a pickup truck trying to help.

It seemed as if the Lord was there in the car with me. The Lord seemed to speak in the voice of Bob Jones, “And, you know what that means.”

I do know what it means when I hear that phrase. It meant I had to pray for the meaning for what I had just observed. So I prayed. Here is what the Lord showed me the objects meant.

1. Holy Spirit will be the teacher and show how to rescue the child and set it free.
2. The life and ministry is stalled out but if they call, they will be rescued by someone who is willing to be their friend and pick them up.
3. Being busy like a beaver will lead to loss, destroy many trees (people) and damage the surrounding fields (crops, fruit). In this particular case, the beaver has built a dam that is higher than the road and dam needs to be regularly opened up using heavy equipment to keep the pond from flooding the road. If flooding were to happen, then the way would be lost.
4. At schools there are play grounds where joy is experienced daily. Freedom exists in abundance. The laughter that fills a school yard it is good medicine.

I was lead to 3 scriptures (NIV):

Isaiah 49:15
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
Deuteronomy 4:31
For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.
2 Corinthians 4:7-9
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

A Wonderful Way To Explain Death

A Wonderful Way To Explain Death


A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side."

Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know."

"You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?"

The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.

Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you notice my dog? He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing... I know my Master is there and that is enough."
What a wonderful way to explain it.