God's Offering

 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” ~ John 3:16

The season on the Church Calendar is approaching, which is the Lenten Season. A time of humbling ourselves before the Lord by taking on a Discipline and adding a Spiritual Discipline as we remember Jesus Suffering. It is a 40 day commitment between the Christian and God. It is a time of not only recognizing Jesus Suffering and obedience to His Father, but it is a time of remembering God’s Offering.  God’s Offering is sometimes forgotten as we see the suffering of Jesus. God’s Offering was “His Only Begotten Son!” As we worship Jesus we must remember the heartbreak in God’s heart as He view the suffering of His Only Son. In the Message today we will see what God’s Offering did for us. I’m sure you know that the “Only Begotten Son” of God came to take away our sins and to give unto His followers Eternal Life. This is God’s great Offering that we might have Eternal Life. Perhaps we don’t often think of Eternal Life until there is a death close to us. But Eternal Life is our goal, it is our destiny! It is our Hope!  In Joel Chapter 1 – The Word of the Lord came forth and God commanded that the children be told and their children must tell the next generation. What was so important for God to speak in this manner?  VS 9 “The meat Offering and the drink Offering is cut off from the house of the Lord; the priests, the Lord's ministers, mourn. The field is wasted, the land mourneth; there’s a languishing in the land! In there mourning, which is a type of death/separation; an expression of great sorrow there is an uncontrollable languishing in the land. To Languish means “listlessness, weakness, laxness, lackadaisical, and most interesting – spiritless! That’s just the explanation of Wester the dictionary – but we quickly recognize spiritless --- we recognize this as in our own land today! The things of God’s creation such as the Fruit of the fields, the trees, the vines, are found withered! Because “Joy is withered away from the sons of men. Could this be true today?  We might be caught up in the stresses and anxiety of our day until the “Joy of the Lord’ is not operating appropriately in our life. Jesus came in “Joy” – “Who for the “Joy that was set before Him: Jesus endured the Cross!” [Heb 12:2] How does this Joy live in us? It was an Offering given to us in this Holy Season by the Father through His Son -- “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, will bring Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost!”   Pastor