Author: Mojo Ministries

Genesis 35, beginning in verse 1, the Bible says, “And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. ² Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: ³ And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. ⁴ And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. ⁵ And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. ⁶ So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him. ⁷ And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.“

As I was reading this passage of Scripture, my mind (and thoughts) kept going back to verse 1, “. . . Arise, go up to Bethel, make there and altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.”  The thought occurred to me that this wasn’t the first time Jacob had been to Bethel – he had been there before.  Apparently, just as God did with Noah and humanity, and just as He did for us with His “Only Begotten Son,” God gave Jacob the opportunity to hit the “reset button” in his life.

Why do pencils come with erasers?  Because EVERYONE makes mistakes writing or drawing.  Erasers give you the chance to hit the “reset button.”  Do you remember “back-in-the-day” when we had VHS tapes? When you rented them, before you turned them back in, you had to rewind them or be charged a fee.  It is amazing the technology we have today that allows us to hit the reset button at anytime on our electronic gadgets.  On my smart TV, I can hit the rewind or even the rest buttons even during a live show.  How awesome is that?

You know what is even more awesome, the fact that God has given us the ability to hit the reset button in our lives.  Maybe you are having problems in a relationship.  I have someone close to me whose marital relationship was hit with a bombshell.  My friend, Scripturally, could have walked away from that relationship, but instead, he looked at himself, realized it takes two to make a relationship work, and asked God to give him a “reset” on his marriage.  Folks, it’s OK to hit the reset button.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been struggling with my health (several broken bones, blood clots), and gaining a little more weight than I would have liked.  So, my wife (bless her heart), knowing I can’t resist a challenge, signed us up to run a Spartan Race (you can’t even imagine the shock on my face).  My wife, realized that if we continued down the road we were going, we wouldn’t be around to see our 10 grandchildren grow up, so she hit the “reset button” on our health.  For the past 3 weeks, we have gone to a complete plant-based diet and are exercising every day.  Feeling the challenge himself, my son Joshua is exercising daily with us, and we are now running the Spartan race as a team, and more importantly, as a family.  Folks, it’s OK to hit the reset button.

Recently, our family has left the ministry we’ve been involved with for 3 years.  We left the church we loved, the friends we’ve grown to love, and I’ll tell you, it’s been very difficult, and at times very painful.  But you know what?  God didn’t tell us that the journey to get to the place He wants us to be, the place that He has espied for us, the place that He knows He can best use us, our talents and our abilities, would be easy or pain-free.  So I am extremely grateful that God gives us the ability to hit the “reset button.”

Father, this morning, there may be someone reading this blog that desperately needs to hit the “reset button” in their life, maybe it is concerning a relationship, or a personal failure, possibly their health or even their relationship with a church.  Father would you give them the opportunity to hit the “reset button” and start over!  Thank you for always being there for me and for always allowing me to hit that button.  We love you and we praise you, in Jesus Name – AMEN!

“19 Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.  20 And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.  22 Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.  23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.  24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.” (Acts 11:19-24)

Here in Acts chapter 11, the Christians have begun to disperse after the stoning of Stephen.  And as they go, they go preaching and teaching the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Bible says in verse 21, “The hand of the Lord was with them.”  And in fact, the Bible records for us that “a great number believed and turned to the Lord.”

So, word of their success comes back to the Mother Church in Jerusalem, so they decide to check it out.  They send Barnabas, one of the early church leaders as far as Antioch to see what is going on, and then to come back and report his findings.  So, when he had gone as far as Antioch, the Bible says, “He came, and had seen the Grace of God.”  Right in the midst of heavy persecution on the church, right here in the middle of turmoil, the Bible says Barnabas saw “the grace of God.”  The Bible says that when he had seen God’s grace – HE WAS GLAD – He was happy.

Have you ever sat around and really thought about Grace?  I hope first off that you understand what God’s Grace means, and simply put, it is defined as “The unmerited favor of God.”  It is the gift of His Son Jesus Christ who died for us.  He who knew no sin became my sin.  It’s God’s unmerited favor – you can’t be good enough to deserve it and you can’t work hard enough to earn it.  Someone said the letters of GRACE stands for God’s Riches at Christ Expense.

I got to thinking about that and thinking about how great God’s Grace is.  And you know what?  We can’t even be saved apart from God’s Grace!  “For by grace are ye saved through faith . . .”

Though I can’t speak for you, I am grateful for the day when I was a little boy, that I came to my senses, I went running slap into the arms of God’s Amazing Grace.  And I’ll tell you folks, Grace will ALWAYS take you to Jesus!  And I’m so grateful that “where sin abounds, GRACE does much more abound.”

Verse 23 goes on to say something else that I really want to focus on for just a moment.  It goes on to say that after he had seen the grace of God and was glad, he “exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.” He Exhorted Them, He comforted them, He encouraged them.

Barnabas’ name is translated as “son of consolation,” or “son of encouragement.”  What and honor to be recorded in the Bible for all eternity as Mr. Encouragement!  When Barnabas goes to God’s people and he sees what God is doing, when he sees the lives being saved, the Bible tells us that he “Exhorted them all.”

He was saying to them:  Whatever you’re doing – keep doing it; don’t stop; don’t get discouraged; just keep on keeping on! I’ll tell you what’s a shame, is for people to get saved at an early age, live 50-60 years as a Christian and never encourage one single person in the faith.  What a waste of a Christian life.

If this journey was all about the destination, why didn’t God just kill us when He saved us?    He didn’t because He wanted us to bring others into the family of God.  He wanted us to encourage one another along this life’s journey.  I don’t know about you, but some days, I just don’t need anybody to tell me what I’m doing wrong – the Holy Spirit does a pretty good job of doing that for me!  Some days I don’t need anybody telling me what I ought to be doing!  Some days I just need a handshake, or a hug around the neck and have somebody say, “I love you brother and I’m praying for you.”

I’m just saying that some days, when we’ve been with God and seen his Grace, we ought to want to be helpful to others.  Our problem is that we can’t get our eyes off ourselves, or off our problems or circumstances to see the needs of others.

• We get our eyes on stuff;
• On our problems;
• On our situations;
• On our circumstances.

We get so caught up in “our thing” that we can’t see the needs of others.  I pray to God that when I die, when they bury me in the ground, I pray somebody standing there around that grave can say, somehow, someway, that I encouraged them along their life’s journey.  I love this old song by General William Booth:

Others Lord, yes others, let this my motto be

Help me to live for others that I might live like Thee!

Heavenly Father, help me to get my eyes off of ME and keep my eyes on Jesus so that I can be a helper, and exhorter, and encourager to others, in Jesus Name – AMEN.

Off the coast of the South China Sea, on a large hill overlooking the Harbor, stands a large wall facing the harbor.  That wall is all that remains of a massive Cathedral that the Portuguese settlers had built on these hills hundreds of years prior.

A typhoon had come through this area and destroyed everything – it leveled everything – except this one section of wall facing the harbor.  And sitting on top of that wall, is a very large, bronze Cross.

In 1825, a songwriter by the name of John Bowring was sailing in a ship off that same coast when a storm struck the ship that he was on.  The ship became shipwrecked and torn to pieces.  John was thrown from the ship and found himself floating on a broken piece of wood.  He said he felt as though the next wave that crashed on him would be the last time he ever breathe on this earth.  But in the midst of that storm, John Bowring said he caught a glimpse of that Cross sitting on top of that hill, and it was like the Spirit of God had reassured him that he would be alright.  John Bowring was in fact rescued from those treacherous waters, and he was so moved by that experience that he penned the words to a poem entitled “In the Cross of Christ I glory.”

This poem may well have been the theme song for the Apostle Paul, who wrote in Galatians 6:14, “but God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Now, if you do a little research, you will find the word “glory” mentioned over 400 times in the New Testament alone.  Throughout the Bible, we can see God’s Glory in Creation.

You see, years ago, God stepped from behind the curtain of nowhere, and stood upon the platform of nothing and spoke the world into existence.

And the Psalmist said in Ps. 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.”

Where Paul said, “God forbid that I should glory in anything except the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

• We see the Glory of God in Creation.
• We see the Glory of God in Christ.
• We can see the Glory of God in the Church;
• And we see the Glory of God in the Cross.

Now you think about Paul – there’s a lot of things he could have boasted about, there’s a lot of things that happened that could have caused him to pat himself on the back.  In fact, Paul may well have been the greatest Christian that ever lived:

• He was a powerful preacher;
• He was a prolific author – having written over half the New Testament;
• He had the right pedigree – circumcised the 8^th day, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews.

I mean, Paul was a religious thoroughbred – and had he remained a Pharisee, he would have no doubt been the High Priest among them.  If anybody could pat themselves on the back, it was the Apostle Paul.  But Paul tells us here, “I glory, I brag, I boast, in this one thing and this one thing only – THE CROSS OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!

• Paul’s Pride was limited to the Cross!
• Paul’s Praise was limited to the Cross!

In our day, when we think of a Cross, or when we are discussing the Cross with people, they typically think of a Jeweler – and the Cross as a piece of jewelry we wear around our necks or on a lapel.

But, in Paul’s day, when you thought of the Cross, you typically thought of a Jailer!  For in Paul’s day, the Cross was a cruel place, a place of harsh punishment and death.  The Cross was the cruelest form of death known to man.

I am afraid today that our Churches are cursed with a Cross-less Christianity.

• Our pulpits are filled with preachers that only want to preach “relevant” messages;
• They are filled with preachers who are teaching us that God wants to exalt us;
• Churches are teaching and preaching that God wants us to be prosperous;

We are hearing everything except what we need to hear.  The Bible says man’s problem is SIN!  And what man desperately needs is a good dose of the Cross of Jesus Christ.  What we need is to get back to the Cross of Jesus Christ.  It is not the job you have, or the car you drive, or the house you live in that is going to make the difference in your life or in the lives of those in your sphere of influence – it is the Cross of Jesus Christ that is going to make the difference.

Paul said, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

A dear friend of ours has a beautiful garden she’s planted.  There are multiple vegetables, as well as herbs and spices.  As we sat one day, drinking tea she had grown in her garden, she began sharing her heart with us about this garden,  She walked us around and showed us the various vegetables,  peppers, beans she had planted.  She showed us the various irrigation measures she (and her father) had put in.  She also shared with us how she thought squirrels had gotten into the garden, and showed us what she’d done to mitigate that risk.  One thing was vary apparent through this conversation – this garden, with all of it’s weeds, with all of it’s problems, with all of its burdens – was a labor of love.  Gardening is certainly no easy task, and at times is burdensome.  Since visiting her garden, this message has been developing in my head.

There were three times, at least, in the life of the Savior where He was under a tremendous burden. In the wilderness, He won the victory over Satan. On the cross, He won the victory over sin. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He won the battle over self-will.

Every time Jesus was faced with heavy burdens, He taught us what to do. However, this garden experience was unlike the prayers He prayed while being tempted in the wilderness, and even from the Cross.  In the wilderness, there is a devil you can see. At Calvary there is a cross you can see. However, in the garden, there is nothing visible. What a lesson for us all! Sometimes the enemy we face is evident. There are times we are fortunate enough to see trouble coming.  Often, our burdens take us with no warning at all. Personally, I have no problem dealing with the burdens I can see coming, but it’s quite another when I can’t see it, or pin point it, or even explain it.  Burdens are just as real when we can’t touch them or even put a name to them – like Cancer.   Look at Matthew 26:36-46 with me for a few minutes:

^“36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. ³⁷ And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. ³⁸ Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. ³⁹ And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. ⁴⁰ And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? ⁴¹ Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. ⁴² He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. ⁴³ And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵ Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.”

Let me show you a few things I see

THE GRINDING IN THE GARDEN

The word Gethsemane means “oil press” or “olive press.” In this garden, the olives were placed onto the millstones to be crushed by the weight of the press to extract their oil. There were four different pressings of the olives.

• The first produced the oil used for holy things associated with the Temple;
• The second provided the oil for home cooking.
• The third pressing yielded oil for medicine.
• The last was used for soap, beauty aids or household applications.

In short, everything in the olive had to come out under the load of the press. Olive oil may only cost us a few dollars but it cost an olive everything that was in it!

We see the Burden upon the Savior in His sweating.

Luke records the account and says, ..his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground. (Luke 22:44).  What a strange place to bleed. In a beautiful garden the crimson color is no longer seen on the flowers but it now covers the ground. How awful that sight must have been to those who were with Jesus! It teaches us that sometimes we can have an ugly problem in a beautiful place. You go through life and just achieve what you always worked for only to face illness, pain or loss. The pressure can make us sweat but none of us have ever sweated like Jesus did in the garden.

We also see the burden in the separation by the Savior.

The disciples tarry at the appointed place but Jesus, “went a little farther, and fell on his face.” (vs. 39). He kept on going when those He loved had stopped. Burdens will drive us to a place where we feel others are not able to go.  There is a loneliness involved with real stress. There are some things that we must go through alone.

The burden is visible in the sleeping disciples.

Jesus leaves them and returns on three occasions only to find them asleep each time (vs. 40, 43, 45). What makes us keep going back to things that don’t work when we are under pressure? The results are the same, yet we still think our friends or family can help us somehow. We know only God knows and can give us relief.

Finally, you see the Burden in the seeking of the Savior.

The text teaches us that Jesus, “prayed the third time, saying the same Words” (vs. 44). You know it is real when you keep praying the same thing. The need is so great that all you can do is speak the same words over and over again. Nothing else matters and you must get an answer from God!  This is the Grinding in the Garden.  Now notice:

GRACE IN THE GARDEN

When Jesus came the third time and found the disciples still sleeping, He speaks to them and says, “Sleep on now”(vs. 45).

Something happened on His third trip in prayer. Nothing had changed concerning the will of the Father. The burden was still there but it just didn’t bother Him anymore.

When I read those words spoken by Jesus, I could not help but think of all the things that had bothered me so much throughout my life and ministry. It was a sudden reminder that there are some things we all just need to “put to bed”. 

• Things are not going to change. We just need to let it sleep and find peace in Him.
• When someone that you have depended on, has let you down, but don’t let bitterness grow in your heart.
• When disease comes and your spouse has lost their memory of your life together, don’t argue with the Lord about it.
• As you care for that child who is disabled, please don’t get angry with God.
• If a church has voted you out of your position , or broken your heart, don’t try to get even.

The best thing we can ever do with anything putting a burden or distress on us is to “put it to bed!”

How long will your burden continue? I am not able to answer that completely. I know Jesus prayed three times but He was the Christ! Paul prayed three times before he found His grace sufficient to overcome the thorn in his flesh – but he was an apostle. If they both prayed three times then we may have to intercede 300 times.  However, grace will come and it will be enough for you to “sleep on” and get rest over it.

There is one other thing that I must mention about this experience. Notice:

THE GARDENER IN THE GARDEN

Jesus goes from this garden and faces the cross. From Calvary, He is taken to a tomb. On the third day, Mary has come to see her Lord. When she looks in she sees two angels at the head and foot of where Jesus had laid. She turns aside and hears another voice of comfort. The voice of Jesus! The Bible then records that “She, supposing him to be the gardener”(John 20:15).

When He spoke her name, she knew it was Jesus! She thought Jesus was the Gardener because He was! He had cultivated the Garden of Gethsemane to give us hope in the hour of burdens in our life.

You may be going through one of the most difficult times ever. All hope is not gone. Others may not be able to lift the load. I just want to remind you during your time of heavy burdens, “This is only a test.” Jesus knows and understands so just keep saying the same words.  He has not forsaken you or lost sight of you.   The Gardener of Grace will give you all you need to get to the point where you can “put it to bed.”

Back in August of 2018, I posted a blog entitled “So, You Wanna Be Transformed?”  the inspiration for that post came from my grandson Lucas.  Since writing that post, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in a church leadership conference where the theme was Transforming Ministries.  I’d like to follow that up by asking this simple question, “What Does It Mean to be Transformed?”

That word Transformed comes from the Greek word “metamorphóō,” which translates into our English word “metamorphosis.”  It means to “change after being with,”  “To reproduce the same image.”  Thayer’s Greek Lexicon describes Romans 12:2 as, “change of moral character for the better.”

In Romans 8:29, the Apostle Paul gives us God’s purpose for our lives, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”  God’s desire for my life and for your life is simply this, when He looks at us, He wants to see Jesus in us; He wants our lives to be a reflection of His Son. If our community is going to be transformed, then our churches need to be transformed, and in order for our churches to be transformed, then we individually have to be transformed.

How do we accomplish God’s purpose?  I think Romans 8:28 gives us the answer.  ” “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”  God is using our life experiences to shape us into the image of His Son.  It is not through a plan, it is through a process.  It is accomplished by doing what St. Augustine referred to as “Soluitur Ambulando,” which means “It is solved by walking.”  Simply put, that means to “Keep taking the next step.”  In order for you and I to “move from where we are to where God wants us to be, what is the next step that God wants you to take individually, and what is the next step He wants us to take as a church collectively?  And once we understand that process, according to Romans 12:2, we then begin the process of transformation.

 For me, my transformation process began in the summer of 1969 when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.  I John 3:1, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: . . .”  Verse 2 goes on to say, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

Let me translate that into Mooreology, “Now that I’m a child of God, I don’t know exactly what I look like at the moment (I don’t look like I used to look, but I don’t quite look like Him yet), because I am in the process of being transformed.  What I do know, is that through this process, if I continue to take the next steps in my life, I  will look less like ME every day, and more like Him every day.  And when He returns, I’m going to look like Him.”

If we want to effect change in your community and in your church – that change, that transformation, will have to begin in each of our lives individually.  And it is individually that we become a “member,” a “partner” with the church of Jesus Christ.  You see, according to Matthew 16:18, Christ is not building His church in some building somewhere – He is building His church in the hearts of His true followers.  And collectively, we make up the Church.  It is through our local community of believers that we meet and minister to people spiritually, physically, emotionally or socially, and that we are able to demonstrate the reality of God’s grace, mercy and compassion.  We do this for the purpose of reproducing our lives in the lives of others.  This is where we begin to see others as they begin to take the “next step” in their transformation process.

If my life is going to be transformed into the image of Christ, I have to understand why He came.  Luke 19:10 says, “For the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” As I write this, it is with the realization that there are millions of people, all over the world, who are waiting:

• They are waiting to see if you and I understand that their souls are just as precious to God as ours;
• They are waiting on us to obey a command;
• They are waiting for us to tell them how they can know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior;

They are waiting on God – and they are waiting for us.  And while the are waiting (and dying), too many churches are content to rely on their singing, on their preaching, on their programs to win the lost for Christ.  While they are very busy building more and better programs, they are doing absolutely nothing to take the Gospel message into the highways and the hedges to reach the lost.  We all know that Jesus gave His disciples, to His followers, a command in Matthew 28:19, 20 and Acts 1:8 to “Go and be witnesses.”  That command did not specify a gender, or a color, or an age, or a position.

Can you imagine what our churches would be like if our people, who are commanded to go would simply obey that command?  Folks, we are never going to impact the lives of the people around us with the Gospel Message, if we, individually and collectively will not take the “next step” in our transformating process.

Listen to me, the only way God’s plan is going to be accomplished is through YOU AND I.  GOD NEEDS YOU! Our communities are waiting to see how much of a difference you and I can make for God!  God wants us to “GO”.  He wants us to “take the next step.”  He said, “Go, and lo, I am with you, even until the ends of the earth.” “Take the next step, and Lo, I am with you.  And it’s a good thing God goes with us and not for us.  We spend so much time waiting on God, when the truth is God has been waiting for us.  And while we’ve been waiting – the world is dying without God!

We sit at church fellowshipping with one another, and talking about all the good things God has done for us.  We get burdened for the lost, and we say stuff like “They need the Lord.”  We see how America is falling apart without God and we pray that God will do something about it.  “Lord, want you do something in America?”

And God says, “You take the next step – I’ll Go with You.”

• “YOU GO – I GO”
• “Who You Speak with, I’ll speak with”
• “Who you invest in, I will invest in.”

“Father, as I’ve asked myself the question, ‘What does it mean to be transformed?’ I believe it means the process of daily looking less like me and looking more like Christ.  Help me today to look less like Joe Moore and more like Jesus.  Help me to help others to look less like themselves and more like Jesus.  Don’t allow me to be comfortable in the safety of the local church while the world around me is dying without hope.  Father help me to take this life transforming message to a lost and dying world.  In Jesus name I pray. Amen.”

In Genesis 32, we recognize this is where Jacob Wrestles With God (or the Theophanies of God – that being “God in the form of something . . .”)

²² And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. ²³ And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had. ²⁴ And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. ²⁵ And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. ²⁶ And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. ²⁷ And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.  ²⁸ And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. ²⁹ And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.”

Can I ask you a personal question?  Why are you reading this blog?  I mean, there are a lot of places that we could be right now – you could be eating out, or going to a movie, or relaxing in your lazy boy, watching your favorite show or reading your favorite book – yet you are here, reading this blog.  I think it is safe to say that you are not reading this blog because some guy named Joe Moore is dazzling you with his great literary skills, rather, I think you simply want God to bless your life.

Now Genesis 32 is not the first time Jacob has an encounter with God.  The first was back in Genesis chapter 28, and the place was called Bethel.  Bethel, in the Hebrew, means “House of God.” Bethel was the first time that Jacob encountered God.

• At Bethel, he saw a ladder.
• But at Jabbok, he saw the Lord!
• At Bethel, he became a believer;
• But at Jabbok, He became broken.
• At Bethel, He became a son;
• But at Jabbok, he became a saint.
• At Bethel, he died to sin;
• But at Jabbok, he died to self.
• At Bethel, he had a spring in his step;
• But at Jabbok, he left with a lasting limp!

And every one of us understand that this is the process of the Christian life. all of us need a Bethel experience.  You need to know when you have meet God for the first time.  You may not remember the date, you may not remember the time, you may not even remember what the preacher was preaching on, BUT, you should remember the experience you had when the Lord Jesus Christ came into your life and changed you.

I remember, when the God of the Universe crammed Himself into this little heart of mine – when, at the age of 6 years old, I ran smack dab into the Amazing Grace of Almighty God, in a Sunday School class at 4^th Street Baptist Church in Hartsville, South Carolina.  And folks, I will never forget that experience.  WHY?  Because that was my Bethel experience.

• How many remember the first time you meet God?
• How many remember when He saved you?
• How many remember when God changed your life?
• How many remember the time in your life, when you were bound for a devils hell, But you meet Him at Bethel, and He saved you and changed you forever?

Aren’t you glad for the day that you came to Bethel????

Oh friend, every one of us needs to have a Bethel experience!  But here is the funny thing about Jacob, you will learn about Jacob that he had to go “back to Bethel” many times.

Listen, there are going to be times when Satan is going to come after you, and he is gonna try to convince you that you didn’t get anything.  I promise you, he is going to jump up on your shoulder every chance he gets and try to discourage you and convince you you didn’t get it.  But why don’t you just look him straight in the face and say, “Devil – let me just take you back to Bethel.” Everybody needs a Bethel experience.

He came to Bethel – and then he went to Jabbok.  And the simple message is this – God will never be able to use you until he breaks you.  So many people are trying to rely on themselves, their own talents and their own abilities to get through their problems.   But you are gonna have to learn to come to the place where God can empty you of YOU.

You know what causes us the most problems in our lives?  (POINT AT YOURSELF!).  It’s us.

• We cause ourselves the most heartache;
• We cause ourselves the most pain;
• We cause ourselves the most trouble;

And why?  Because we can’t come to grips with the fact that we need to turn it all over to God.  We are still trying to handle it all on our own.  Well let me ask you, in the words of a good friend of mine, Keith Blanton, “How’s that’s working out for you?”

Let me show you something I believe we need to do if we are going to have the blessing of God on our lives.  If We are going to have the blessings of God on our lives, WE WILL HAVE TO GET ALONE WITH GOD.

Jacob understood he was going to have to get alone with God:

• This was a time of Testing;
• This was a time of Trials.

You have to understand where Jacob was coming from.  20 years prior to this, Jacob had tricked his brother out of his inheritance.  The word Jacob actually means “Trickster,” or “Surplanter.”

• His entire life was made up of lies.
• His entire life was made up of deception.

And just around the corner in the next chapter, he was going to have to come face-to-face with his brother Essau, and he didn’t know if Essau was going to kill him or what.  So, Jacob had to come to grips to who he was.  He came to the realization that after 20 years of being a “trickster,” after 20 years of being a “surplanter,” it has now caught up with him.  And so now here he is – Alone With God.  And my friends, you will never get ahead until you get alone with God.

You say, “Well brother Joe, does anyone get alone with God anymore?”  I would say there’s a few, but not many.  You know how I know – look at your cellphone.  Don’t get me wrong, we want to get alone with God, but as soon as we start praying – “Ding.”  I was at a stop light the other day coming home from work and I counted 9 cars that went in front of me – EVERY SINGLE PERSON, IN EVERY SINGLE CAR, was on their cell-phone.

We can’t get alone with God because we feel like we always have to be connected to somebody or some thing.  And do you know why nobody wants to get alone with God?  Because when you get alone with God, you have to deal with yourself.  Can I tell you the best times I have had, by far, in my Christian life is when I have been alone with God.

You ever wonder how the earlier church (and I’m talking about the churches in the 40, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s) when they didn’t have cell phones and the internet, had the power of God on them?  The reason they had the power of God is because they spent time alone with God.  They knew where to find God’s Wine Cellar.  When they came to church, they didn’t need somebody to “work-up” the spirit for them – they came in three sheets in the Wind already! Because they spent time alone with God!

You ever wonder why people come to church daring you to bless them?  I tell you why – because they haven’t spent time with God alone!  I’m just saying that the greatest times I have had have been when I have spent time alone with God.  When I’ve been able to cry out to God – not some eloquent prayer – but just cry out to Him – God I need YA!  God I need Your help! And that only happens when you get alone with Him!

• You want some changes in your life?
• You want some changes in your family?
• You want your church to turn your world upside-down for Christ?

Then get alone with God, grab a hold to Him and don’t let go until He blesses you!

Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.“

Psalm 103 is a beautiful picture of God’s love, grace, forgiveness and long suffering, written by David in his later years when he probably had a greater sense of how rich the free pardon of sin was, as well as a better understanding of the cost of sin than he had in his younger years.   David, a man after God’s own heart, was also a murderer and an adulterer.  David paid a high price for his sin, yet looking back over his life, he sees the goodness of God, the forgiveness of God.  As he comes to the realization that God has removed his transgressions as far as the east is from the west, David says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”

At a point in my life when I’ve been down the road a little further, and I’ve been around a little longer, I’ve seen the cost of sin in my own life.  In many ways, I feel like the Apostle Paul when he said he was “chiefest of sinners.”  Paul was a murderer, a blasphemer, a persecutor of the church, yet after finding God’s amazing grace, Paul said in Philippians 3:13, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind . . .” Paul was determined not to let his past hinder his present.  Why?  Because Paul knew that God had removed his transgressions as far as the east is from the west!

It amazes me how we sing songs about God’s forgiveness, and His goodness, and His grace.  We see people come to the altar and ask God to forgive them of the sins, old things have passed away and behold all things have become new.  God has taken their transgressions and removed them as far as the east is from the west.  And what do we do?  We clothe ourselves in self-righteousness and point our judgmental fingers at them and say things like:  “They’re no good – They’ll never make it,” “God might forgive them, but I never will,” or “God might forget their sins, but I sure won’t.”  I think it would be a good day for the Church of the Living God when helping people get from where they are to the place God wants them to be was something we did rather than something we said.

Lord Jesus, thank you for removing my transgressions and taking them as far as the east is from the west.  Help me to be like Paul and forget those things that are behind me and help me to reach for those things that are before me.  Lord help me forget the past, live in the present and look forward to the future.  Help me to remember that I am no better than anyone else.  Help me to love people and to help people.  It’s in Your name I pray.  Amen.

How many of you believe that God is always at the Right Place at the Right time?  A couple of months ago, construction workers finished building a Dollar General on Cannons Campground Road, right at the traffic light near Mary Black Hospital.  A couple of weeks after it opened, I was driving home from work and was stopped about 5 cars lengths back from the light (which put me right at the entrance to the store).  I happened to glance over and I noticed an elderly woman that had fallen out of her door.  I also noticed her husband, who was not in much better shape, trying to make his way around the car to help her.  So, I decided to pull in an give them a hand.  As I helped her back into the car, the old man said to me, “Young man, (I like that) you showed up at the Right Place at the Right Time.”

When I got home that evening, I shared that story with Kim and I thought about Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  That says to me that God is always at the Right Place at the Right Time.

HE IS AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME FOR SALVATION

If you will remember with me, in John chapter 4, Jesus said to His disciples, “I must needs go through Samaria . . .” Now, the time of day that He went to that well was not the time of day that the women would come and draw water, so He was there specifically for one woman, a woman that wasn’t accepted by the other dignified women of the community.  So Jesus shows up and is sitting on the well (a Well sitting on a well) at the hottest time of the day to ensure that one woman, that woman who had infidelity in her life, was able to receive water so she’d never thirst again.  Aren’t you grateful that you can’t have so much sin in your life that He can’t forgive you?  For that Samaritan woman, Jesus showed up at the Right Place at the Right Time.  I’m grateful, that as a six year old boy in a Sunday School class of my home church, Jesus showed up in my life at the Right Place at the Right Time.

HE IS AT THE RIGHT PLACE AND THE RIGHT TIME FOR SICKNESS, SORROW AND SUFFERING

John chapter 11 records for us the death of Lazarus.  It is believed that Jesus spent a lot of time in the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, as he ministered in and around Jerusalem.  Yet, in this chapter, this family whom He loved:

• They are going through the biggest valley they have ever crossed;
• They are facing the greatest trial they will ever face;
• They are facing the greatest tragedy they’ve ever faced;
• And they are carrying the heaviest burden they will ever carry.

And in this moment, in this time when they really needed Jesus – He wasn’t there.  And to add insult to injury, in verse 15, Jesus says, “And I am glad for your sake that I was not there.”  Not only was Jesus not there – but, He was glad He wasn’t there.  Has there ever been a time in your life when you really needed the Lord to be there, but seemingly, He wasn’t there?  Job said in Job 23, “Oh that I might know where He is that I might find Him.” The valley was so deep, and the night was so dark that Job said, “I can’t find God.”  Has there ever been a time when you needed Him, yet you couldn’t find Him?  They send for their friend Jesus, but He doesn’t show up.  Lazarus dies – Mary and Martha are in deep sorrow, and for the next several days, Jesus was nowhere to be found.

Then on day 4, Jesus shows up.  In verse 35 (the shortest verse in the Bible), the Bible says, “Jesus wept.” There is a lot of debate in the theological community as to what that means.  Can I just give you may simple thought on this?  I think Jesus wept to show us that it’s alright to cry when you’re hurting, it’s alright to weep when you’re in sorrow, it’s alright when you find yourself in moments of weakness.

I believe Mary and Martha were upset because they knew that Jesus could have prevented this.  And when Mary comes out to meet Jesus, though she fell at the feet of Jesus, she said exactly what Martha said, “Lord, if thou hast been here.”

• “Lord, if you would have been here, you could have stopped this;”
• “Lord, if you would have been here, you could have prevented this;”
• “Lord, if Thou would have been here, my brother would not have died.”

But, He wasn’t there.  Why did He wait?  I think He waited because on the 4^th day, after He raised Lazarus from the dead, verse 45 says, “Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.”  Jesus showed up at the Right Place at the Right Time.

HE WILL SHOW UP AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME FOR THE SECOND COMING

John chapter 14, Jesus tells His disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” So, when is Jesus coming back?  At the Right Place at the Right Time!  I believe there is nothing prophetically that is keeping Jesus from returning at any moment.  I believe the only thing holding Him back are the prayers of His saints, praying for their loved ones to be saved, praying for their communities to be saved.  But you can rest assured, Jesus will come again at the Right Place at the Right Time!

There is a vernacular term known all over the world as “social distancing.”  Amazingly, this term was introduced to society just a few months ago, yet is universal.  Today, I am not going to share with you any deep theological truths, yet I do want to share a few thoughts that I believe we can take from the Bible and make a practical application to our lives.  While I was in Bible College, my homiletic’s professor said often (as it relates to the Scriptures), when studying the Bible, there are three questions you should ask:  1.  What did it mean then (what was the authors original intent)? 2.  What does it mean now (as it relates to our current world situation)? 3.  What does it mean to me (a personal application to my life)?  I’ve entitled this “The Original Social Distancing” and want to share a few thoughts from Joshua chapter 3:1-5:

“And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. ² And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host; ³ And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. ⁴ Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore. ⁵ And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.“

We know the story, Moses has died and Joshua has now been chosen to lead the Children of Israel over the Jordan River and into the Promised land.  Imagine with me, the children of Israel standing by the river, gazing into their future of uncertainty.  They knew they had to cross the river, and other than the reports they had received from the spies they’d sent over, most people had no idea what awaited them on the other side.  Before they passed over to the other side, they were instructed to do two things:  Keep a 2000 cubits distance between you and the Ark of the Covenant (The Original Social Distancing) and sanctify yourselves (purify yourself, clean yourself up, set yourself apart).  This is the contextual setting (what it meant then).

What does it mean now?  As a society, we are standing on the edge of our “Jordan River,” gazing on the other side.  We know we are going to make it there, but we have no idea what awaits us when we get there.  We are also being asked to do the very same thing the children of Israel were instructed to do:  Practice a 2 meter/6 foot social distancing and clean yourself – wash your hands often, don’t touch your face, cough into your elbow or a napkin.  Sound familiar?

Now, none of what I have shared would mean a thing if I fail to make a practical application in my own life.  So what does this mean to me?  Just like everyone else, I’m standing on the edge of this “Jordan River.” I am doing the best I can to gaze over to the other side, and though I have no idea what it’s going to look like when I get there, I am going to trust that God is working all things (all the good things, all the bad things, all the things I understand, all the things I don’t understand, all the things I can explain and all the things I can’t explain) for my good and for His glory.  Until I get there, I’m going to do as I’ve been instructed, I’m going to practice this new vernacular known as “social distancing” to the extent possible and I’m going to wash my hands regularly, and try not to touch my face (which is proving to be very difficult new norm).  In a more spiritual sense, during this time, I am trying to put distance between me and sin and doing everything I can to put into practice the principles of Romans 12, verse 1 and 2, as I try to look less like the world daily and better reflect the image of Christ.  I am looking forward to what God has for us on the other side of this.

I believe the greatest holiday in the Christian faith is Easter.  Though I enjoy Christmas as well, I just think there is no holiday for the believer quite like Easter.  Honestly, it is really the foundation of our faith.  The birth of Jesus is not what caused all the disciples to die a martyr’s death.  Interestingly enough, after the resurrection, 11 of the 12 were willing to die for Him because they knew they served a Risen Savior.  I just believe as the people of God, we ought to make much about Easter.

So turn your Bibles with me to Matthew chapter 21, and we’re going to be talking about the events that took place as the LORD came back into Jerusalem.

Matthew 21:1, 2, “And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, ² Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.”

Now go down to verse 6 with me:

^“6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, ⁷ And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. ⁸ And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. ⁹ And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.”

Now jump over with me if you will to chapter 27, and we’ll begin reading in verse 15.

¹⁵ Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. ¹⁶ And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. ¹⁷ Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? ¹⁸ For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.  ¹⁹ When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. ²⁰ But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. ²¹ The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. ²² Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. ²³ And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.”

What we saw when we began reading in Matthew 21:1 and 2, was Jesus actually entering triumphantly into the city of Jerusalem.  Jesus is about to come onto the scene in a big time way.  Jesus is about to put His ministry on the front burner.  Up to this point, although Jesus was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, he wasn’t out there touting it.  If you’ll remember in Mark chapter 5, when Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead, He straightly charged His disciples that they would say nothing about.  In fact, in Mark chapter 9, after taking His inner circle of Peter, James and John up on the Mount of Transfiguration, verse 9 says, “And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.”

You see folks, I believe the LORD had a time table.  There was a reason He stayed obscured for 33 years, now entering Jerusalem, He is moving to the front burner, and I believe John chapter 6 tells us why.  If you remember, Jesus has fed the 5000 with 5 barley loaves and 2 small fishes, and the people wanted to make Him a King, and Jesus told them that His time had not yet come.  You see, Jesus had a timeline.

And 6 days before the Passover, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.  This was the miracle, this was the event, that initiated an organized effort by the Chief Priests and Pharisees to Put Jesus to death.  John 11:53 says, ““Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.”

I hope you can see this – this was the single event in God’s timeline that caused Jesus to take a giant step toward Calvary!

It is in John chapter 12, beginning in verse 12, “ On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. ¹⁴ And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, ¹⁵ Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt.”

I know I’ve shared a lot of Bible, but it is important to lay the proper foundation.  Now, let me share two things I see out of this passage.

THE ADORING CROWD CELEBRATES HIM

Picture in your mind with me, there is a great multitude in Jerusalem.  They have come from all over the world to celebrate the Passover.  In that day, the Jewish Nation came to celebrate freedom from slavery and oppression – as Christians we celebrate Easter as freedom from sin and death.  Jesus Himself celebrated the Passover.

Having spent 15 years in the Middle East, I watched each year as Muslims from all over the world made their pilgrimage to MECCA.  The airports would have multiple planes that carried only Muslims for this pilgrimage.  There were people pushing and shoving, laughing and talking, children playing – and I mean by the thousands.  That experience gave me a pretty good idea in my mind what Jerusalem must have been like for the Passover.

So Jesus is making His entry into Jerusalem for the Passover.  There is a great crowd that has followed Him from Bethany.  WHY?  Because they saw Him raise Lazarus from the grave – and many believed.  Word of Jesus’ arrival got to Jerusalem before He got to Jerusalem and many of them came to the Eastern Gate as He was entering.

So, as Jesus is entering the city, they begin taking palm leaves and coats and putting the on the ground before Him so that He would have to enter on dirt.  WHY?  Because this is the King they had been waiting for.  But what they were really looking for was a political king.  What they needed was a Savior.

Listen, when John the Baptist was standing by the Jordan River as a “voice crying out in the wilderness,” when he saw Jesus coming

• He didn’t say, “Behold the King of kings that taketh away the sins of the world;”
• He didn’t say “Behold the Lord of lords that taketh away the sins of the world.”
• He didn’t say, “Behold the Great High Priest that taket away the sins of the world.”

HE SAID, “BEHOLD, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.”

So why didn’t Jesus come as a King?  Because they (and we) didn’t need a King:

• What we needed was a sacrifice;
• What we needed was to have the blood applied;
• What we needed was a Lamb without spot or blemish.

So, here is this crowd that adores Him singing “Hail Him, Hail Him,” and in 5 short days, this same crowd is going to be singing, “Nail Him, Nail Him.”  My, what a Difference a Few Days Makes.  And that brings me to my second point:

THE ANGRY CROWD WANTS TO CRUCIFY HIM

Now a custom had developed between the Jews and the Romans whereby once a year, during the Passover, a prisoner, a criminal, someone who had been incarcerated, would be released.  This would remind them of have they had been released from captivity.

Pilate is doing everything he can not to Crucify our Lord.  So he takes the worst prisoner he had, Barabbas, and puts him with the One of whom he said, “I find no fault in Him,” and he takes them before the people to choose.  And some of the very people who were Adoring Christ 5 days earlier are now saying, “Give us Barabbas and Crucify Jesus.”

They went from singing “Hail Him, Hail Him” to “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.”

What a Difference a Few Days Makes!

I read a story Dr. Bailey Smith wrote about a college play he attend.  Dr. Bailey wrote, “As they play began, the first scene opened with a family sitting in the house.  The father was a carpenter who built cabinets and chairs and furniture.  They were tight on money and the wife asked the husband, ‘Why don’t you consider making crosses for the Romans?’  The father said, “No, I build furniture – not crosses.’ But the wife was very insistent that they needed the extra money.  The scene closed and then the second scene opened.  A young boy ran into the house where the mother and father were and he was crying, “Mom and Dad, I just came from Jerusalem and they are crucifying Jesus.’ The mom and dad replied, ‘you mean the Jesus that we know? The Jesus that we saw doing miracles?’ The son replied, “Yes Daddy, and Daddy, He was carrying our cross.’  “No,’ the dad replied, ‘He couldn’t have been carrying our cross.’ The son the said, ‘Yes it was dad. Remember when the Roman soldiers came and purchased a cross?  Well, while you were talking to them, I ran out to the shop and wrote my name on it, like all the famous people do.  When I was in Jerusalem, they were leading Jesus by me and He was carried a cross.  When He fell, I saw my name on the Cross.”

My name is on that Cross, and your name is on that Cross.  He died for you and He died for me.  II Corinthians 5:21 says, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”  I don’t know how anyone can look at the Cross and not realize just how much God loves you.