jewellpage.com

Exodus 18.9 When is the last time that you shared a blessing with someone. I mean that you literally sat down with a friend and shared the blessings that God has been showering you with. That is what happened in Exodus 18 when Moses met with Jethro his father-in-law. Can you imagine this scene with me? These two old men with their long beards are sitting on the ground at the table where they have been dinning. All the while Moses has been recounting what the LORD has been doing in his life lately. Man! A firsthand account of all of those miracles by none other than Moses. Here sits the entire family around the table recounting God's blessings. The result was that "... Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel ...". Interesting that word, "rejoiced". It means to " rejoin ". It has the sense of uniting, intertwining or connecting . I know that you have been in a situation like this. A friend is weaving a story and you a...

Genesis 37 - 50 Moses in preparing his novel called Genesis relates some fascinating human interest stories. One that endears me each time is how Joseph saves the universe! What? You’ve never read that part? Well my friend it is there as plain as day in chapters 37 - 50. Joseph was a casula. Whoa brother you lost me there. Casula (ka-SOO-la) is a Portuguese word which usually means, “Spoiled rotten little brat”. Well... that might be the Amplified version of the definition. It actually means the youngest child in a family. The “baby”. Joseph being the casula got doted on by daddy. Jacob’s favoritism lead to such bitterness that Joseph´s brothers wanted to kill him literally. While planning to do just that Joseph was saved by big brother Rubin. That, “salvation” lead to a life of slavery in Egypt shortly after being sold to a caravan of Ishmaelites. Lovely little family tradition that. Let’s sell the casula! Yay! Sounds like something from Star Wars. Soon after his unexpected journey...

Happy New Year Psalm 1 The New Year brings the possibility of being happy. We hope in the prospects that this unspoiled page offers. It seems a unique time for change. We stand at the beginning of something big, important and special. Tantalizing possibilities, adventures and solutions, that at other times during the year are invisible to us, seem do-able.  It is January 1. The psalmist has some advice for us as we enter the New Year’s door. He sees a fork in our way. Two paths lie before us. One leads to destruction and one leads to happiness. He starts and ends his short verse with a negative perspective. If we were to paraphrase the beginning and ending of this song it would actually look very positive, “Happy are they who don’t...die.” However, to have a happy ending we have some responsibilities. All of which are sandwiched in the middle of this chorus. So, here is a type of ancient mathematical formula for a really Happy New Year no matter what the following twelve mont...

The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms (Deu 33:27)   What happens at the Twilight of Life? In the last two weeks I have visited two rest-homes and have come away terrified. The old seem despised a nuisance a curiosity. In one home a 106 year old lady was wheeled out as if she were a museum piece to be ogled. In another a 96 year old shriveled in her bed was whispered about as if a specimen of pity.   These two cases were extreme to be sure but the old are different. Many avoid them. Many look at them as if they were a strange breed an oddity or had contracted a terrible disease. Others pity them beyond measure which in the end brings undue embarrassment and uneasiness.   All of this commotion about aged bodies. All of this attention because of years of wear and tear. All forgetting that everyone of us is headed to the same destiny if we should live so long.   Is the "Rest Home" something to be looked forward to or dreaded? Should I pre...

Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John . (Luke 1.13.)   In this dramatic scene the angel Gabriel appears to Zacharias the priest who just happened to be offering sacrifices in the Holy of Holies for first and only time in his life. He had been randomly chosen. Gabriel relates a stunning bit of information. He tells him to rest easy because his prayer (singular) is going to be answered! Hurray! Elizabeth is going to become pregnant and have a son!   Wait a minute! Zacharias and Elizabeth were old. They had been married for decades. Yet the angel spoke as if the deal was done. In fact he names the baby and begins to share details about all of the things that John would accomplish. Did you notice the list?   ● He will be great before the Lord. ● he will be filled with the Holy Spirit ● he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord ● he will go before (the Christ) in the spirit a...

Uthai. Now there is a name for you. What mother looked into the eyes of her newborn little bundle of love and with a cooing voice said, “Your name will be Uthai.” Pronounced in Portuguese it would ooo-tie. Using a Mid-west U.S. accent it might come out You-thigh. Whatever the pronunciation it is not among the top-ten most popular boy names. If you have read the Bible through you have read about Uthai. Unless of course you "speed-read" the genealogies. You won’t find Uthai’s story in Flannel-graph, Bible coloring books nor in bed-time devotionals for kids. His name won’t come up in marriage counseling applications, wedding counseling presentations nor in Father’s Day messages but his is an important name. Or rather Uthai accomplishment was landmark. Now, you might be just dying to know who Uthai is and have already gone to you smartphone Bible to do a quick search. If so fine. If not listen to what my quick search discovered about the meaning of his name. In Strong’s Concor...

Heman a singer (1 Chronicles 6.32) Reading through 1 Chronicles I came across this interesting name and sacred music came to mind. What genera did Heman imitate? What kind of “set-up” time did Heman’s ancient group need. How did they do what they did without electricity? How did they worship God without amplifiers, soundboards, mixers and mics? Our worship music has evolved into an ugly alien these days. Its barely distinguishable from barroom music. There is a “Top Ten” countdown for gospel (little g) just as there is for Heavy Metal, Hip-Hop and Rap. And like the latter the gospel music performers receive little trophies for their labors and millions in their bank accounts. Of course I’m sure that each of them tithes to their local band of believers. Pun intended on the word “band”. Millions upon millions are invested and made in the gospel music industry. Didn’t that last phrase sound cold? It is cold. The gospel music industry is a sham. It is the Devil’s lie. It gratifies the f...

carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counsellors have freely offered (Ezra 7.15) Through the years I have often envisioned myself in a giant MONOPOLY game. I am terrible at MONOPOLY. Most know that MONOPOLY (I think that it needs to be spelled with all caps) is usually a dreadfully long game. Many times I have avoided embarrassment simply because I didn’t want to spend hours playing. Or rather hours waiting for everyone else to finish. I am usually the first one eliminated. It is a proven fact. I can’t seem  to win. MONOPOLY is a game of strategy and luck. This mix can be fun when you are a good strategist and when the luck is going your way. But when the die does you bad you’re out in a flash. I’ve tried to start small with Mediterranean and Baltic Avenues and grow. I’ve tried to start big with Park Place and Broadway and crush every opponent. I’ve tried the old barter system, buy a little of everything. I’ve tried to own all of the Utilities and Railroads but usu...

Biblical genealogies are easy to speed-read. At least for me they are. For one thing the names are usually tongue-twisters. For another there is usually nothing to know about each individual. So when I come to a long list of names that begin, “And so-and-so begat so-and-so, who begat so-and-so, who begat so-and-so…. I whip through that list in nothing flat. Is that a sin? About four years ago I did something that I had always wanted to do. I began to research my own genealogy. There was this site on the Net and it had a free trial so I began to dabble. The site had a huge database and it would offer suggestions as to who I might be related to. They were tantalizing tidbits for someone who wanted to know about where he came from and just how much royal blood he had. There was a catch, however. When I would come to an crook in my family tree. That is bend in a branch and not the bank robber type crook. There would be a slight charge. “For just $3.99 you can dig a little deeper into o...

And Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Joshah the son of Amaziah (1Ch 4:34) My name is in the Bible! Michael means, “One who is like God.” It is a powerful name and an impressive moniker. I didn’t choose it and I didn’t like it as a kid. For some reason I couldn’t imagine a man named, “Mike”. Michael is mentioned fifteen times in Scripture. I loved the fact that five of those times he is mentioned as an angel. I always use that designation to my advantage. He is one of only three named angels you know? Is it important to have your name written in the Bible? Each written name gets eternal recognition whether for good or for bad. Take Rueben for instance. He is noted to have defiled his father Jacob’s bed and thus lost his birthright. If I were Rueben I wouldn’t want that news highlighted. Or how about the above curious list found in 1 Chronicles 4.34-37. This group traveled to a “Lord of the Rings” name type city called Gedor. There they massacred a peaceful people and took their land. Did ...

Finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. (Ephesians 6.10) My gym experience continues. I am seeing progress but am also feeling like a whipped pup after every workout. Right now for example my hip hurts, my foot aches and I can barley lift my fingers to the keyboard without grunting. Why? Is it age? Is it weakness? Is it the intensity of the training? Yes, yes and maybe. Age fights dirty and saps one’s youthful strength. Weakness is harder to lick than it used to be. The training is intense but could be worse. Building stamina will take longer than it did when I was fifteen. And there is a good chance that it might never arrive at the level that I had way back then. All of this made me wonder about my spiritual stamina. Do I lose strength as I age? Does the battle’s intensity lessen? Paul, in the above text indicates that the older we get the more we need to get strong. Life can be a tough trainer. It often has no pity nor mercy. If I don’t get the ...

Where has the year gone! It is September already. Life's march is steady but have you ever thought of celebrating Thanksgiving in September, March or June? We have reason to. In the latter chapters of Jeremiah, when all Israel has been sacked and carried captive, there comes a short sentence. It is a predicted exclamation that the Jews of Jeremiah's experience may never have aspired to sing. The vocalization comes in chapter 33 verse 11. But we need to include a bit of the context for the cry to make sense. So, look too at verses 10 through 12. We read 10 Thus saith the LORD; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast, 11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: ...

Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. (Jeremiah 21.8) I don't know if you are a Lord of the Rings fan or not. I must admit that I have never read the books; I've only seen the three films directed by Peter Jackson. At first glance I was in no way interested in slimy creatures being birthed from the ground and the slippery Gollumn character. However, the more I watched the more intrigued I became. I still don't pretend to understand the complete story line but the special effects were otherworldly. Do you remember the second movie, "Two Towers"? In the epic and seemingly eternal scene a battle is set to begin at Helm's Deep or Hornburg if you are a Tolkien purist. There is a mere 1000 good guys against 10,000 plus Orcs and Uruk-hai which are beastly creatures that resemble a cross between apes and demons on steroids. It is a hopeless scenario. There is nothing to do but defend the ominous fortress which at the beginning of the scen...

and such were some of you (1 Corinthians 6.11) I was just getting to the good part of the story yesterday when I ran out of space. So, let’s look again. Do you tend to judge people by their appearance and your expectations? If you do be warned, you are wrong! Look what happened to me. One time I was at the church in the middle of a construction project. My Brazilian coworker and I were working on something that was of "the utmost importance" at the moment. As I stood there giving some instructions into the room walked a "beggar man" and his, pierced ear, slob of a son. Of all the gall! I mean, these guys didn't wait at the gate like "normal" beggars. They actually opened that gate and walked right into the church and began peddling their wares to my coworker. The dad had an arm-load of whatever he was selling. This guy was clearly a looser. His five-o-clock shadow was grungy. His eyes bloodshot and his breath... well I didn't get THAT close. His ...

And such were some of you ... 1 Corinthians 6.11 I love the above passage. Paul writes to a church populated by ex drug dealers, prostitutes, homosexuals and thieves as if they were now all saints! That is because the WERE! They were all transformed by the saving blood of the Lord Jesus Christ! In the middle of this chapter of reprimands Paul stops to look over the congregation in his minds eye and sees precious souls that had been rescued from the edge of the abyss. Each one has a preposterous story, an incredible story, a love story. Each had come to know God’s saving grace and had been transformed. If you had been with Paul at the beginning of the Corinth church plant would you have been excited about the prospects? Would you have even wanted to be on Paul's team? Would you have been able to sell this ministry opt as valid to your supporting churches? Maybe. Paul writes to this problematic group to express his love, concern and to give some much needed instruction. As he dic...

"You no good lily livered low down snake!" I can see him now. I can't remember his name but I can see him. He's a filthy old cowboy with a five day shadow of graying stubble hugging his haggard jaw. Crow's feet frame his squinting eyes. Wretched and crooked teeth, those he has, line his gaping lips. And a Texas drawl spews from his mouth with every word. He looks as if he hasn't had a bath in months if ever. And there he is slamming his rival with degrading and brutal language. Imagine being cut to the quick by this cowpoke. How low can one get? It is extreme humiliation. Yet in Ezekiel 16 Sovereign LORD calls Israel to task with these words, " How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman ." Whoa, talk about brutal language! However, Israel deserves every word. God goes on to say in the following verses that Israel is unlike all other prostitutes in that her "lovers...

we know that an idol is nothing in the world (1 Corinthians 8.4) Yesterday I related my recent Macumba sacrifice clay pot stealing episode and my ensuing sickness. Are the two incidents related? I seriously doubt it. Here are my three reasons why. 1. Idols are Nothings! 2. God is Everything! 3. God cares for me! 1. Idols are nothing! - Notice what Paul tells the Corinthian believers in 1 Corinthians 8: 4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. 5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. The word nothing that Paul uses 18 times in 1 Corinthians alone means… nothing . By that I don’t mean that it means nothing it mean...

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost (1Corinthians 6:19) About a month and a half ago I was making one of two trips homes from an activity and I used a back road to do it. It was getting dark but I noticed something on a rutted corner of the lonely dirt road I was traveling. I whipped on by but glanced as I did. There it was! A Macumba sacrifice. There seem to be two type of sacrifices offered by Macumba adherents, a red one and a white one. In the red one you will often see a chicken with its throat slit and its blood mixed with water in a clay bowl. Along with the chicken may be food items, cigarettes, red wine and other trinkets to please the spirits. The red offering is bad. It means that someone has cursed someone or something. The one I saw a month ago was a white one. White ones are “good” magic. This one had white wine, cigarettes, and some cornmeal in a small clay bowl. I think that there were some white roses there too. I like clay pots, bowel...

And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. (Isaiah 2:19) The EQ in VA and DC has left everyone shaken. Throughout my life I've paid attention to Richter scale reports. Usually I've regarded the 7.0 and higher to be huge tremors. The quake that hit Japan just last year for example was a horrific 9.0. You remember scenes from that unforgettable tragedy. The quake that devastated Haiti lasted mere seconds and was only a 7.0 quake. There is always talk about the shifting of tectonic plates and edging faults. Californians are all too familiar with the San Andrea fault and the constant threat of the west coast slipping into the Pacific. However, it hit me like an earthquake just after I saw video of the DC/ VA quake, God will not need tectonic plates, faults or any other such thing to bring the house down. DC shook slightly for seconds and now ...

Ezekiel 13.1-3 We ended our last look at this passage with a question about how to interpret Bible messages in this day of seeming multiple interpretations. With all religions, denominations and churches having a corner on the truth how is one to tell the difference? We’ve looked at the first two and a half principles: 1. Pray asking God for understanding before each message . 2. Listen carefully and take notes. 3. Make sure that the Bible is used and that illustrations are biblically supported . We ended the last devotional with these questions: So, what if that happens today? What if the preacher uses the Bible to support his false teaching? How will I know that he is using the Bible in a wrong way? See steps 1 and 2 above. If you are in one of our services and you hear something that you don’t understand or think is not biblical what should you do? Actually, in our church, we want you to question us. That’s right! We want you to come to us with your questions. Come to me and say...