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Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go  well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. 3 John 1:2

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Philemon 1:6

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being. Ephesians 3:16

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  Ephesians 3:17-19

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11

I  pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Ephesians 1:18-19

I (Jesus) pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one--as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. John 17:21

I  keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. Ephesians 1:17

I  pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

I pray that the Lord may fulfil his word. 1 Samuel 1:23

Amen!

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Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 Thessalonias 3:1

Greetings to all of you gathered here at Coffee with Jesus.

We are wrapping up the Leaping Forward series tomorrow with a special prayer for all of you. Today however let's take a moment to pray for the Coffee with Jesus ministries along with the numerous ways and means by which the Gospel is being spread these days.

For every Christian believer, soul winning ought to be his/her number one prayer and priority. Each one of us is called as ministers or as ambassadors of Christ! Amen! When we are ready to serve in whatever way we can, God will annoint us more and use us for His glory. There is no greater privilege than serving the Lord! Amen!

Let us pray:

Our Father in Heaven! Thank you Lord for once again bringing us all together under your wings as one big happy family, around this "coffee table" to enjoy the fellowship of one another in your sweet presence!

Today Lord, we gather together and pray for the Coffee with Jesus ministries Lord. Let your words be shared, not any human explanation, Lord. Let your Holy Spirit lead us and guide us as we look at each Scripture Lord.

Let your words of healing reach out to the sick among us Lord. Let your words of comfort and joy and peace touch the broken hearts among us Lord. Let your words of correction lead us to become more like you each day Lord.

Thank you for each and every one of us gathered here from all over the world Lord. Thank you for binding us all as one in your name Lord. We praise and glorify your name and your name alone Lord. Thank you for the numerous ministries that are working towards spreading the Gospel Lord. Use each one for your glory Lord.

In Jesus' most precious name we pray,
Amen!

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When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:41

There are two babies we read about in Luke Chapter 1, baby John and baby Jesus. Both babies were special. Both were foretold decades ago. One to set the path straight and make the way for the Other. One to set the path straight and make the way for the rest of the world!

No wonder baby John leaped upon sensing the presence of baby Jesus! Both were anointed by the Holy Spirit, even from their conception.

You must read John Chapter 1 to fully understand how John testifies Jesus time and time again. He says in verse 15 “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” in verse 20: John confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.”

When the priest's people insisted John to tell who he really was, he said:  “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.”

When John saw Jesus, right away he knew He was the Lamb of God who is to be slain to take away the sins of the world.

John baptised Jesus with water in the river Jordan. The Holy Spirit in the form of Dove rested on Jesus which was the confirmation message for John that Jesus was indeed the Lamb of God!

John lived and died preaching about repentence, making the way straight for the Lord. Jesus on the other hand died and lives and continues to make our paths straight. Amen!

If there is anyone here who has not found this Light, not washed by the Blood of this Lamb, I pray that you experience His Love and be redeemed!

And those of us who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, let us testify of Him making the way straight for salvation of the rest of the world! Amen!

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In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 1and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed (leaped) out into the crowd, shouting: “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you.

We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”

Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. Acts: 14:8-18

It is the same Jesus Paul preached about - we worship! He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He has shown kindness by giving us rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides us with plenty of food and fills our hearts with joy. Amen!

Have a blessed "Son"day!

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God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

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How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. (NIV) Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead. (ESV) Song of Solomon 4:1

Christ's love for His Bride - the Church (you & me) is unconditional. He overwhelms us with His loving words, does He not? We may not consider ourself very beautiful, but to our Savior Jesus Christ we are so beautiful without any blemish. We can say He is blindly in love with us that He looks past our imperfections.

Here's a beautiful song just for you! Have a blessed weekend. God be with you!

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And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. Genesis 31:12 (KJV)

I strongly encourage you to read this portion of the Scripture which would set the context for today's devotion: Genesis 30:25 onwards.

It is an all too familiar story how Jacob was taken advantage of by his Father-in-law Laban. For the first fourteen years he worked for him for Rachel, he did not get paid at all. Later when Laban was willing to pay him he kept changing the wages because it seemed Jacob was getting the better of the deal. It was in fact in a dream Jacob got the hint to ask for speckled, ringstraked ad grisled flocks as his wages.

The focus of our attention today is the underlined text above: "I have seen all that Laban has done to you!"

It may appear for a while that we are on God's blind spot if you will and that He ignores how we are treated by certain individuals in our lives - be it a manager, a supervisor, a spouse, an in-law, a sibling, a friend, a neighbor - you name it. People could be taking advantage of our hard work, our simplicity, our honesty, our God fearing, you name it.

Just because we are Christians we are expected to shake off stuff that bothers us and tolerate everything under the sun. Worse yet people quote the Scriptures and demand us to react certain way to certain situation. Comments like , "show your other cheek" or "go the extra mile" or "forgive as you are forgiven" are not uncommon coming from our offenders.

Don't give up yet; just hang in there. Don't you doubt the least that whatever you are going through are all recorded in God's sight. He has seen it all! Soon He will justify your cause and bring you victory. He will never ever put you to shame.

Here are some more Scriptures along these lines to assure you indeed your help is near:

* Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll--are they not in your record? Psalm 56:8

* "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back." Isaiah 54:7

* This is what the LORD says: Stop your crying, and wipe away your tears. You will be rewarded for your work, declares the LORD Jeremiah 31:16
* Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. Isaiah 49:13

* No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married. Isaiah 62:4


To conclude, His eyes have seen all they have done to you! Amen!

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For by you I have advanced against a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. Psalm 18:29

Psalm 18 is a song of King David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

If we can learn one thing from King David, it is how to be truly humble. He was a great king who had won many battles, earned many riches, he had the perfect 'rags to riches' story. He could have easily took the credit for it all; but he was careful not to. For every little or big achievement in his life he acknowledged the mercy of God.

Being a king, making such statements that emphasized his dependency on God might have been shunned at by his advisers, ridiculed by his adversaries and was not considered "politically correct" by his inner circle. Yet, he cared the least for what people thought of him and never hesitated to praise the Lord for his advancing career.

He was not ashamed to share about the perils he encountered and the emotional turmoils during the process.  In verses 4,5 & 6 he says, "The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.  In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help."

No wonder he was a man after God's own heart!

Now, the question is how many of us can truly say we can relate to King David in these aspects? Are we more like him or unlike him?  Do we realize it is His grace that we are not consumed? If we answered "No" let us start working on our attitude.

Let us make this our sincere prayer: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

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Elijah cometh nigh unto all the people, and saith, 'Till when are ye leaping on the two branches? -- if Jehovah is God, go after Him; and if Baal, go after him;' 1 Kings 18:21(Young's Literal Translation)

Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." (NIV)

We are not getting into details on the context of today's text. However, if you wish to understand the context, please click here to read the full chapter.

How many of us can relate to wavering between two opinions? What causes us to waver?

* When a promise is delayed we waver
* When our faith is tested we waver
* Out of fear of someone or something we waver
* To avoid conflicts we waver...
* To sum it all up, in plain and simple words, we waver between hope and fear.

We do want to believe in God's promises (hope) but at the same time we want to consider the 'what if it is not true' scenario (fear or doubt).

The Scripture says: A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. James 1:8

Wavering or being unstable has huge consequences. If you recall Reuben, he received curse from his father Jacob instead of blessing. Jacob's words in Genesis 49:4 goes: "Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel"

King David sings in Psalm 26:1 "I have trusted in the LORD without wavering". In his letters to the Hebrews Apostle Paul writes: Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm Hebrew 10:23

As part of His sermon on the mount, Jesus said: "Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." Matthew 5:37

Knowing these Scriptures will help us to improve in our faith and reduce our doubts. Any doubt about that? :)

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With a noise like that of chariots they(the army of locusts) leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle. Joel 2:5

In the book of Joel we read of many end time prophesies and here in Chapter 2 a detailed description of an army of locusts. If you have some time today I encourage you to read the full chapter to get a glimpse of the impending danger by an invasion of locusts. It is dreadful to realize that such destruction could be caused by swarms of locusts. It is absolutely horrifying even to read.

The chapter does not end with just the warning; but goes on to explain how we can escape the ordeal. This clearly shows the love of the Lord to protect us from these calamities. In verses 12-13 we read:

“Even now,” declares the Lord,

“return to me with all your heart,

with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

Rend your heart

and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:12-13

You may ask, what does rending our hearts or repenting have to do with escaping the army of locusts. The answer is in verse 32: And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Joel 2:32 Amen!

If we are intune with the Lord, we will be caught up in the sky when Christ returns to gather His Church before such calamities strike the earth. Praise the Lord!

We have been warned. Let us heed to it. It is time to return to the Lord with all our heart! Yes, today!

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Yet these may you eat of every flying creeping thing that goes on all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap with on the earth Leviticus 11:21

Leviticus chapter 11 titled Clean and Unclean Food  lists the clean and unclean birds, animals,fish and insects that are considered edible and that which are an abomination to eat.

However, in Acts chapter 10 we read of an account of Peter's vision that contradicts these very law that were given by Moses to the people of Israel. The point here is that keeping the law should not be the priority over accepting people from different faith, culture, race, religion, wealth, caste, stature, etc.

Many Christians or I should say people who call themselves as "christians" are keen on associating only with Christians; worse yet - only with believers of their own race, culture, church & social background! They hesitate to make friends with anyone who is not of their faith.

Jesus Christ during His life on earth set a perfect role model when it comes to making friends. He was friends with all kinds of people, from all walks of life and even many "sinners". Sin He hates but sinners He loves! Everyone who came in contact with Jesus was influenced by His love for them.

How can we influence someone for Christ if we choose to be safe? How can we be a light if  we shun from people who are in the darkness? How can we love the Lord if we lack love for fellow human? How can we ever follow the great commission to go and make disciples if  we do not want to get out of our comfort zone?

The voice that Peter heard in Acts 10:15 still calls out today - to each one of us believers - "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."

Are we ready to accept every one in Christ?! If so, go for it; if not, leap forward!

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As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart. 2 Samuel 6:16

A familiar portion from the Scriptures. For those who are not sure, here's the cotext: King David was bringing the ark of the Lord into the city of David and he is so full of joy and merriment that he danced on the street, in front of the cart that was carrying the ark of the Lord. Seeing this from the palace window, his wife who was Saul's daughter despised him.

Not sure whether King David counted it against her or not, but looks like God did not approve of that as in the verses that follow we read, "And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death." 2 Samuel 6:23

How often do we despise our spouses - first in our hearts - and then by our words - and next by our actions?! Let us be aware that this is the reason for our lack of blessings.

Let us sincerely respect our spouses. Let us use our words carefully while discussing with them about things we don't agree with. Every thought or word or action we do by despising our spouse is recorded against us - true for both guys and girls.

While at it, here are few more things the Scriptures teach us NOT to despise:

* Do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving. Proverbs 6:13
* Do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuke. Proverbs 3:11
* Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. Job 5:17
* Do not despise your mother when she is old. Proverbs 23:22
* Do not despise one of these little ones (children) Matthew 18:10
* Do not despise prophecies I Thessalonians 5:20

Now that we know, let us not despise... Let's leap forward!

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Listen! My lover! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills. Song of Solomon 2:8

This is one of the most beautiful passages in the whole Scripture, I would say. Not because the book is about an intimate love story, but because it is our love story! The story of how Christ loves His Church - which is made up of you and me!

I can't resist comparing today's Scripture to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 which goes: "For The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet The Lord in the air."

In Zechariah 14:3 we read, On that day His feet shall stand on The Mount Of Olives which lies before Jerusalem...

Jesus Christ in His own words has assured that, "... They will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; and He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matthew 24:30-31

Amen! Before long our Lover will return - leaping across the mountains and bounding over the hills. Let us pay keen ears to His trumpet call as he gathers us to Him. Here He comes!

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The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. Psalm 28:7

One way to learn how to pray is from seeing/listening to people of God pray. It is therefore a good idea to pay special attention to Scriptures that are prayers made by great people of God. Psalm 28 is one of King David's prayers to God Almighty, please take some time to read it today.

Prayer is no pre-written script or memorized portions of text. It comes from the heart spontaneously, revealing our inner most thoughts, correcting us in the process, and making us whole again. Prayer is our means to directly communicate with our God.

We need not have a recommendation by someone to mediate between us and the Lord. No person, animal or thing, living or dead can pass on our requests to God. It has to come from within, by ourself, to our Lord. And the best part is His ears are open to our supplications!

We read in I Peter 3:12, For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer. Psalms 145:18 says, The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. What a great promise that is!

Let us call onto Him today for all our needs. Whatever it is that bothers us let us bring it to His presence, even now around this coffee table, let us lift our burdens to Him in one accord and pray for a deliverance from whatever troubling circumstances we are in. Surely He is near to us and His ears are attentive to our prayers. Amen!

If any of you want to pray for the rest of the people here today, please write it at the comments section below. God bless you all as you continue to trust in Him.

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Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind> man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped (leaped) to his feet and came to Jesus.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. Mark 10:46-52

What do you want Him to do for you today? Have  your answer ready; He will do it!

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Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

They replied, “Certainly, O king.”

He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Daniel 3:24-25

An all too familiar portion from the Bible - a scene we can all visualize just from reading Daniel Chapter 3. An account of the three bold young men Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who stood up to their faith during testing times. It is even possible that Daniel too bowed down to the image but not these men!

I remember reading an imaginary article on the scene once as a first person narrative by one of the friends of these young men. A Hebrew youth just like them who knows he shouldn't bow to any idol or worship anything other than Jehovah; yet he was so afraid of the king's order and the fiery furnace that he decided to 'go with the flow'.

As he did, he saw these three men standing up straight and he is so afraid that they would get killed. So he is hurrying them, "Hey Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! Didn't you hear the orders? Didn't you hear the drum beat? Bow down! Just once. You don't have to really worship, just pretend!"

And they keep standing and this guy is beginning to panic, hoping that no one would notice them - but alas the kings' men have seen them standing tall while the rest of the assembly and all officials bowed down at the orders. This friend is very sad. His heart is so heavy. He couldn't even say good bye to them lest they associate him with them and take him along to the fiery place.

Thus these three men were led to the king and then to the furnace and his heart sank further - only to realize moments later of the great miracle that happened inside the furnace and how they three got out alive without even the trace of the smoke on them! He starts to see how they stood for their faith and God proved Himself right while he denied his faith to please the king. He is overcome with great regret for his behavior...

Now, coming back to the present time, such orders and similar denials happen on a daily basis even today. We are afraid to open our mouth about things we believe in. We do not speak up. We tolerate all kinds of sins that we see around, just because we are afraid to confront them. We try to stay politically correct - so that we can win "friends" not realizing we are denying our faith by doing so. This is very sad.

Let us today recommit ourselves to never deny our faith over anything or anybody else. When all else fails His grace will be sufficient for us. We will come out of the furnace unbound and unharmed. Amen!

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"Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? Do you make him leap like a locust,striking terror with his proud snorting?" Job 39:19-20

Chapters 38 through 41 of the Book of Job in the Holy Bible are full of questions - questions asked by God Almighty to Job. Chapter 38 starts with: The Lord spoke out of the storm and said, "Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me." Job 38:3

There are well over 70 questions across these chapters and not even one can be answered by any person - living or dead! Anybody who questions the existence of God should read these chapters; which without fail would give them the answer!

Today's Scripture makes us look at the horses from a new perspective - comparing it to the locusts! Horses leap the same as locusts, irrespective of their huge sizes. It comes so naturally for the horse to leap without fear. It is effortlessly strong.

However, King David writes in Psalm 33:17, A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. In Psalm 3:8 we read, From the LORD comes deliverance.

Prophet Isaiah goes a step further and writes: Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD. Isaiah 31:1

Of course we all know the all too familiar statement by King Solomon in Proverbs 21:31, The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.

Amen! Our victory rests with the Lord; not with the fearless leaping horses!

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Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever. Psalm 68:16

High hills are normally associated with people worshipping idols. In 1 Kings 14:23 we read, They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree.

Mount Zion on the other hand is not a high hill, but a mount, much smaller in stature compared to these "high places" but our Lord chose it as His dwelling place. It is called the Holy Hill. There are many references in the Scriptures for it; here's to share a few:

* Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done. Psalm 9:11
* It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. Psalm 133:3
* But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance. Obadiah 1:17
* For the LORD has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling Psalm 132:13
* In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. Psalm 76:2

It is in this context King David sings that the so called high hills has nothing to boast about because the Lord desires to dwell in Mount Zion and not on these high hills. Elsewhere he sings, "For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?" 2 Samuel 22:32 and again in Psalm 18:2, "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

So King David knew who his Rock was and where He dwelt that he didn't have to look up to any of the other high hills to find his Savior like the heathen did.

If we are on the same page, we will not look up to Hollywood or Washington or upper management or doctors or therapists or gurus or yoga or any other "high places" to find our refuge... We will know to take refuge in the Lord for there is no other rock except our God! Amen!

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Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever. Psalm 68:16

So, how is everybody doing so far with our Leaping Forward series? I love the fact that there are so many beautiful Scriptures on 'leap'.

Today for a change we will have a open discussion, meaning, it is your chance to share. Please feel free to write your thoughts on today's Scripture in the comments section below. It will be encouraging to all.

Just to help you with your flow of thought, here's sharing a picture of some mountains:


God bless you all very much as you continue to part take in Coffee with Jesus. Have a great, godly weekend!

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Tobias also the Ammonite who was by him said : Let them build: if a fox go up, he will leap over their stone wall. Nehemiah 4:3

For those who are perplexed at this Scripture let me give you the context. Nehemiah the slave cup bearer of King Artaxerxes has this urge to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He gets permission from the king to go and build it himself. He also requests for needed wood, metal and letters of support for other rulers so that he can do the work.

As he starts to rebuild, the locals Sanballat and Tobiah give him a hard time - ridiculing him, falsely complaining of his intent to the king, making fun of him constantly, sending letters of opposition to leaders of the land, etc. In one instance they even insulted his work so far, saying it is no good, it won't withstand even a fox running over it.

How Nehemiah responded to these nuisance is what sets him apart. He did not argue with them. He brought it up to God in prayer. In Nehemiah 4:4 we read how he prayed: "Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads... "

His prayers were answered and he was able to successfully complete the work he had started, putting to shame the very people who ridiculed his work.

Matthew Henry has expressed the exact thought I wanted to share; here's to quote from his Concise Commentary:

Many a good work has been looked upon with contempt by proud and haughty scorners. Those who disagree in almost every thing, will unite in persecution. Nehemiah did not answer these fools according to their folly, but looked up to God by prayer.

God's people have often been a despised people, but he hears all the slights that are put upon them, and it is their comfort that he does so.

Nehemiah had reason to think that the hearts of those sinners were desperately hardened, else he would not have prayed that their sins might never be blotted out. Good work goes on well, when people have a mind to it. The reproaches of enemies should quicken us to our duty, not drive us from it.

So, our take away today is, do not react to insults from others, take it to God and lift it up in prayers. He will handle it all for you! Amen!

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"At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place..." Job 37:1

Job's friend Elihu goes on to describe the power and majesty of the Lord by these words:

“At this my heart pounds
and leaps from its place.
Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice,
to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.

He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven
and sends it to the ends of the earth.
After that comes the sound of his roar;
he thunders with his majestic voice.

When his voice resounds,
he holds nothing back.
God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.

He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’
So that all men he has made may know his work,
he stops every man from his labor.

The animals take cover;
they remain in their dens.
The tempest comes out from its chamber,
the cold from the driving winds.

The breath of God produces ice,
and the broad waters become frozen.
He loads the clouds with moisture;
he scatters his lightning through them.

At his direction they swirl around
over the face of the whole earth
to do whatever he commands them.
He brings the clouds to punish men,
or to water his earthb and show his love. Job 37:1-13

I love what Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary says about this passage, which I wish to share with you below:

The changes of the weather are the subject of a great deal of our thoughts and common talk; but how seldom do we think and speak of these things, as Elihu, with a regard to God, the director of them! We must notice the glory of God, not only in the thunder and lightning, but in the more common and less awful changes of the weather; as the snow and rain.

Nature directs all creatures to shelter themselves from a storm; and shall man only be unprovided with a refuge? Oh that men would listen to the voice of God, who in many ways warns them to flee from the wrath to come; and invites them to accept his salvation, and to be happy.

The ill opinion which men entertain of the Divine direction, peculiarly appears in their murmurs about the weather, though the whole result of the year proves the folly of their complaints. Believers should avoid this; no days are bad as God makes them, though we make many bad by our sins.

Have a blessed day! God be with you!

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And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan. Deuteronomy 33:22

This verse is a portion of Moses's blessing to the tribe of Dan, just before his death.

If you were to read about the children of Jacob, they have a birth order as follows: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Dinah, Joseph, Benjamin.

However, here when Moses blesses them he seems to have mixed up the order and not only that he completely misses out Simeon and Dinah from his blessings. He lists them in the order of: Reuben, Judah, Levi, Benjamin, Joseph, Zebulun, Issachar, Gad, Dan, Naphtali & Asher.

Dinah he could have omitted because only the sons were considered as heirs those days, but the avoidance of Simeon has to be well thought of in advance. I believe it is because of the mass murder Simeon and Levi did on account of their sister's affair with Prince Shechem. I am guessing Levi's anger subsided later while Simeon was still stubborn, which explains why Levi was included in Moses's blessing but not Simeon...

So, coming back to our text, about Dan Moses blessed, he is like a lion cub that leaps from Bashan - which shows his courage, strength, fearless nature and his success against his enemies. In fact Samson is from the tribe of Dan and we know how he killed lions by his bare hands!

But you know what? We have a greater blessing than Dan's blessing. Even these strong lions of Bashan could go hungry and week, but us who seek the Lord will lack no good thing! Amen! Psalm 34:10

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And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. Acts 3:8

In Acts Chapter 3 we read of an account of how a man lame from birth got healed miraculously in Jesus's name. When he was healed due to the outburst of his joy and happiness he leaped (jumped), stood, walked and praised the Lord.

How many of us have been crippled one time or another? If not physically emotionally? There have been times our hearts have been so heavy that we couldn't move physically - remember? Then those times when we lost our loved ones, we couldn't get ourselves to sing or praise or do any of that - remember?

Then due to the abundance of His mercy and grace, we have regained our strength to stand up, walk, leap and praise the Lord! Amen! Our joy has returned! Amen!

But for those among us who are still "crippled" in some way or form, let us join hands here and pray together, believing in one accord that they too be healed in Jesus's name:

Dear Father! We come at your presence rejoicing in your love Lord! Thank you for lifting us up from our desperate conditions that we are now able to stand, walk, leap and praise you Lord! But then some of us are still crippled Lord, whose joy seems to be long gone Lord. We bring our such brothers and sisters to you this morning Lord. There is nothing we can do other than lift them up in our prayers Lord.

Please Lord! Touch them Jesus! Heal their broken hearts Lord, bind their wounded spirit Lord, touch their depressed souls Lord. Fill them all over again with your joy and love and peace Lord - up to the rim and overflowing Lord! So that they too can stand up, walk, leap and praise you Lord. So that they too can be FREE Lord! Free to love you, free to praise you, free to sing and worship you Lord. Let the devil have no hold on their spirit Lord, let him be put to shame Lord. Let your light shine through Lord. Let your mercy flow Lord. Let your anointing fill these brothers and sisters who have joined hands here today Lord. Bless them Lord. Use them for your glory Lord.

Hallelujah! We praise and glorify your name Lord. Your name alone we glorify Lord! Please enable us to hear testimonies of people touched and healed by you today Lord. Let us hear of the "lame" who can now leap Lord. We thank you believing that you are healing at this very moment Lord. Hallelujah! Thank you Jesus! In the name of our Savior Jesus Christ we pray, Amen!

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For by you I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall. II Samuel 22:30

II Samuel 22nd chapter is titled David's Song of Praise and verse 1 is the introduction which goes: David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

Do we have a song of praise this morning? We have overcome hostile powers in our lives, have we not?! Then where is our song of praise? When was the last time we sang it?

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary elaborates the verse as below:

They that trust God in the way of duty, shall find him a present help in their greatest dangers: David did so. Remarkable preservations should be particularly mentioned in our praises....

Those who receive signal mercies from God, ought to give him the glory. In the day that God delivered David, he sang this song. While the mercy is fresh, and we are most affected with it, let the thank-offering be brought, to be kindled with the fire of that affection.

Here's the question in front of us as we start a new week:  If it is true that by God we have leaped over a wall, why then our praise is long over due?

What would be your excuse?

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I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

As you get ready to worship the Lord this morning, here's some music you can listen to, which is inline with our ongoing message: Take a leap of faith!

Dive by Stephen Curtis Chapman, with the lyrics posted below the video.



The long awaited rains
Have fallen hard upon the thirst ground
And carved their way to where
The wild and rushing river can be found
And like the rains
I have been carried here to where the river flows, yeah
My heart is racihng and my knee are weak
As I walk to the edge
I know there is not turning back
Once my feet have left the ledge
And in the rush I hear a voice
That’s telling me it’s time
to take the leap of faith
So here I go

I’m diving in, I’m going deep in over
my head, I want to be
Cought in the rush, lost in the flow,
in over my head, I want to go
The river’s deep, the river’s wide,
the river’s water is alive
So sink or swim, I’m diving in

There is a supernatural power
In this might river’s flow
It can bring the dead to life
And it can fill an empty soul
And give a heart the only thing
Worth living and worth dying for, yeah
But we will never know the awesome power
Of the grace of God
Until we let ourselves get swept away
Into this holy flood
So if you’ll take my hand
We’ll close our eyes and count to three
And take the leap of faith
Come on let’s go!

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But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Malachi 4:2

Hope you are enjoying the Leaping Forward series as much as I do. Thank you and God bless you!

Let us continue to focus on the same verse today, Malachi 4:2...

If you think about it, sun rises after darkness and the leaping of cattle follows a time of confinement within the stalls. The implication here is, there may be situations in our lives that limits us and it may seem like darkness has engulfed us, but it is only for a short while.

We see a related Scripture in Isaiah 60:19-20 which reads: The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end. Amen!

Darkness or affliction is also part of life, for believers and non believers alike. Only how we handle them is different. In Psalm 119:71 King David sings, "It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees."

Let that be our song too. Let us take comfort that our Lord is with us as we pass through the valley of shadow of death and darkness. His staff and His rod they comfort us. Soon leaping will be ours and there will be intense deliverance and immense joy! Praise the Lord!

Let us continue rejoice over our Savior and His promises today. God bless you. Have a great weekend!

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But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Malachi 4:2

What a wonderful God we serve! Do you revere His name this morning? Then this promise is yours today! The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings! And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall! Amen!

I am sure all of us have seen the rising of the sun and the leaping of the calves released from the stalls, have we not? There is immense joy, health and power in both events. To know that we will leap like the calves and find healing under the sun of righteousness, it is equally joyful; is it not?!

For the rest of the day, let us repeat this verse to ourselves, to our situation, to our concerns, and more importantly let us continue to revere His name. Surely healing and leaping is sure to follow! Amen!

We will discuss the same verse again in more detail tomorrow...

For those who would like to recollect rising of sun and leaping of calves, here's sharing some videos:





God bless you all! Have a great weekend!

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Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. Luke 6:23

Good to know we can rejoice and leap for joy, because great is our reward in heaven. But if you look at the when, you are not going to like it; let's read the verse above:

Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Luke 6:22

How do we like that? This goes together with our meditation a few days ago: Buy the truth; Do not sell it!

You can lose anything/anybody to gain Him; but let's be careful not to lose Him to gain the world.

It is better if men hate us, exclude us and insult and reject us as evil because of our Faith in Him; rather than men love us, include us and praise and accept us as good because of our "fitting in".

Because the former would bring us great leaps of joy and rewards in heaven while the latter would only bring us condemnation, weaping and mourning and gnashing of teeth in hell.

I am sorry, if it appears to be "threatening" but it is what the Word of God tells us. Whether we choose to believe in it or not it is the Truth; nothing but the Truth!

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Happy February 2012! This month is special as it has 29 days - which only occurs every four years on a leap year. Why not do something special this month at Coffee with Jesus too?!

Hence the idea came for a new series called "Leaping forward".

What we are going to do for the next few weeks is to go over "leap" Scriptures in any shape, form,size or meaning as we come across. Sounds good? Here we go...

Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Isaiah 35:6

In order to understand the when, we need to read the entire chapter. It is titled as The Joy of the Redeemed. We are the redeemed - you and me! Which only means this chapter is ours to claim in our lives. For today's "coffee" let's read the full chapter.

The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.

The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.

Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.

In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.

The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
No lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
they will not be found there.

But only the redeemed will walk there,
and the ransomed of the Lord will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Praise the Lord! What a great way to start a new month! Let's leap forward with His grace!