Isaiah 43: 18-21 " His hope will always outweigh the horror."

There appears to be those within the Christian community that senses a change is coming to America, a needful shift to bring the true message within the Gospel to all who adhere to it's message.


 Jack Hayford, pastor of The Church on the Way in California recently wrote of having a new hope and preparation of God doing a new thing. He mentioned "His hope will always outweigh the horror" as one imagines what this new thing may bring. He uses the book of Isaiah 43: 18-21 to bring this message of hope even if it may or not be in a secure or peaceful environment.
 Isaiah had written this passage out of chapter 43 when the nation of Israel was about to be or had already been led off to a 70 year time of Babylonian captivity.  
 Captivity of any kind often brings with it a desire to return to the way things were or as Israel went through their time of captivity a desire to return to the homeland.
 As the 70 year exile continued, Israel was held captive not only to the people of Babylon but to Babylonian form of politics and power over their enemies. The whole invasion of Judah and its people being led off to Babylon to serve as slaves had a way of making God's people weary of life and guilt ridden from the thought they were in the miserable situation because it's what they deserve. 

 In Isaiah 43, Isaiah proclaims to his people not to lose hope and to continue to trust their God. He will bring them through even the most dismal and apparent failures we have in life.
 Here then is a Gleaning from Isaiah 43: 18-21

" Do not allow yourselves to give more thought to the actions and events of what happened in your past, it serves no purpose to you now. It is an old history lesson anyway and you have been through this class too many times. Besides, nothing of what you learn out of this class has ever helped you in your present circumstances. 
 Now is the time for you to be alert and redirect your focus on what is going on currently in your life and where this new direction is leading you. You may not even have a clarity or a good grasp quite yet as to where this new and fresh direction in your life is about to lead you, yet this is a time for you to trust me and to perceive what is actually happening now is really true.
 The desert environment you have been well acquainted with for so long, is about to change. What has been nothing more than a dry and barren wilderness you have found yourself in is now coming to life fortified with fresh streams of cool water to such a dry and thirsty land.
 Even the wild animals within this habitat will take notice and give thanks: the ostrich will pull it's head out of the sand and say thank-you, the jackal after a long run and in thirst, will pause to give thanks, and even the buzzards will bring to a stop their circle of death and swoop down to get a fresh drink and be thankful, as they once again continue on their journey."

 There are times in life, fresh streams do come and give us the strength to go on....                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

The Vikings on the History Channel : "The end of Season Three"

 The plot, the vast array of characters, the emotions and attachments the viewer develops as one watches yet another great season of The Vikings certainly leaves suspense and a deep curiosity as to what may happen next. Although season 4 of The Vikings has been confirmed and is said to be starting production this spring in Ireland, it is also reported season four is the final season of this marvelous historical fiction.
 According to List+3 ratings in Variety, 4.3 million viewers are watching each episode weekly.  What a joy it has been to appreciate Michael Hirst's ability to create such a historical drama that is filled with facts and evidence  yet allows the various fictional characters within this story to capture and embrace the viewer's heart.  
  It's  been curiously interesting to watch a small tribe of Viking Norsemen  attack others on foreign soil in Season One with only one vessel and thirty men, initially raiding isolated monasteries up and down the Northumbria in  northern England, to now having fifty boats with 3000 men as the famous warriors attack Paris in Season three. 

 As season 3 came to a close with King Ragnar making it clearly known to Floki he knew it was Floki that had killed Ragnar's beloved friend Athelstan leaving Floki in an apparent shock upon hearing this news from Ragnar's own lips, it leaves the viewer what may be in store for Floki.
 Season 3 for myself brought sadness as Siggy and Athelstan have both died in different episodes and now Ragnar is sick and you get the feeling he too is nearing death.
 Ragnar's curiosity and openness to Christianity because of Athelstan's influence has certainly changed the relationships between Ragnar and his brother Rollo and with Floki who has reeked with jealousy over the last 2 seasons because of the growing friendship between Ragnar and Athelstan with Floki ending their friendship by killing Athelstan...or so it appears.  Lagertha has reentered the scene drawing close to Ragnar once more. Everyone seems to want Lagertha including King Ecbert of Wessex and yet Lagertha seems most comforted when she has interaction with Ragnar, as does Ragnar's son Bjorn.

 As Season 4 comes to us hopefully by next spring, the questions for me will be:
1. Does Rollo betray his brother once again to become a Count of Paris and fight against Ragnar?, much like he did when he joined up with Jarl Borg and fought against Ragnar in Season 2.
2. Since Ragnar may now know the true feelings of Bjorn, Rollo, Lagertha, and Floki when they had thought Ragnar was dead and in a Viking boat type casket when in truth Ragnar was still very much alive and could have been listening to each word each person said as they paid verbal tribute to King Ragnar individually. How will this change their relationships: Bjorn expressing love for his father Ragnar, Rollo expressing how his brother always overshadowed Rollo, Lagertha who seemed to imply her trust and confidence in Ragnar, and Floki, who now faces the consequences of killing Ragnar's friend Athelstan?
3. In the attacks upon Paris with Ragnar being deathly sick, has Rollo become the supreme Viking warrior and perhaps finally the new leader of the Vikings?
4. Where does Princess Aslaug fit in the next season as Ivan the Boneless grows into a young man and Princess Aslaug's view on  killing Christians while Ragnar has now been baptized as a Christian in front of all his fellow Vikings, and the return of King Ecbert of Wessex should make Season 4 a great finale to a time in history when:

                                                  Vikings roamed the earth....

Mark 16:1-8..."The 3 girls at the tomb"

Good Morning!, and a Happy Easter to everyone! The first reading today is from the Gospel of Mark, the 16th chapter, verses 1 through 8. It is on page ___ in your pew bibles beside you.

 Like so many of our Sacred Scriptures, they often do not relate to our present day society and the culture we live in. This particular passage is also one that conveys passion and yet controversial as it lends a rendering of one man's view and what he heard and then wrote.
  For myself, I can only offer this suggestive thought: the passage I am about to read relates to me from my younger years, November 22nd, 1963. I was in elementary school, Lincoln school a few miles from here when on one early afternoon our teacher, Mrs. Miller, had left the room rather abruptly. From our classroom we actually heard alot of commotion, some crying, and even 2 short screams. Then, Mrs. Miller returned to our classroom and it was apparent she had been crying, her eye liner running down her left cheek. She approached her desk and with all the strength she was able to muster at the moment, announced: "Our President has been shot, and it's pretty certain, he is not going to make it." Mrs. Miller then sat down in her chair, held her head in her hands, and wept. (pause). 
 Some kids in the class began to cry simply because Mrs. Miller was weeping, and I looked at my buddy sitting across from me, he was just sitting there with his mouth wide open, and said: "They can't do that. They can't kill the President....can they?" He remained there for a few minutes reiterating the same question to me. 

 So, here today we read of 3 women: Mary Magdalene, a woman who had 7 demons cast out of her one time and now has gone down in history as a Christian with fierce courage for the Gospel. In the 4th century, the great theologian Augustine wrote of her that she may have been the "apostle of all apostles", Mary the mother of one of the James boys (and I don't mean Frank or Jesse), and Salome, the mother of James and John, the sons of thunder. 
 I am sure they had a similar thought going through their mind that morning just like my buddy had when he first heard President John F. Kennedy had been shot: "How could they have killed the Messiah... they can't do that...can they?" 
 One other note about this passage written by Mark. He makes absolutely no attempt to defend why this happened, what was going on in the present, or what would happen. He leaves us as readers to figure that out. The truth is these 3 girls have just witnessed one of the most brutal acts of murder in history, and now this passage  suggests these girls had not been told to do what they were about to do, rather they were doing it on their own initiative, with their major concern being: How in the world would they move the big round stone in front of the entrance where Jesus lay...so they could get to Him and complete the ancient embalming process.
I will read: " When the Sabbath had ended at sunset on Saturday, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out to purchase some sweet smelling burial spices to complete the embalming practice concerning Jesus.
 On early Sunday morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise, they had made the decision to go to the tomb and complete the process. As they walked toward the tomb, all 3 girls had one main concern: how were they to move the large round stone covering the entrance way to get inside the tomb and get to the body of Jesus?
  When they arrived totally consumed in thought how they were to do this,  they discovered the large round stone covering the entrance...had already been moved! Then a decision was made...they chose to go inside to where Jesus body lay.
 As they entered the tomb,  they saw a young man dressed in a stately white robe, sitting on the right side where Jesus had been laid. When the 3 girls saw this man, they were gripped with fear and terror stricken. This angel spoke up immediately in an attempt to calm them down saying: " Don't be afraid of me, don't be terrified as to what you see. Have you not come to anoint Jesus of Nazareth, the very One you saw crucified? Well, look!, see for yourselves, He is not here! This place is empty. He is Risen!...Risen from the Dead!
 Here is what I need you to do: Go and tell His disciples, and make sure Peter hears this, that Jesus is already going ahead and will meet them in their designated spot in Galilee, just like He had told them prior to taking up the Cross."
 All 3 girls were besides themselves, they were confused, heads were "swimming", trembling, bewildered, and shaking. They fled from the tomb, and said nothing...to anyone.

This is the Word of the Lord.