A Prayer of Thanksgiving

The Following Comments and Prayer were given by Rev. Todd Crouch  at a Community Thanksgiving Service on 11/26/2013 in Bentleyville Pennsylvania.

 We as a nation have been blessed with power, prominence, and strength; we have been “the head and not the tail” …

 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,.” James: 1:17-

 All that America has, has been bestowed upon us by the Great God.  For all that is ours’ we should offer thanks.

The Palmist wrote ,  "He who offerings, the  scarifies of Thanksgiving honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."  Psalm: 50; 23

The Scripture here tells us, that it honors God when we offer thanks to Him. That is, when we as people, or as Christians, bow our heads and give thanks to the Lord God He is honored, and when we thank Him, the way is prepared for us to see His salvation. If we thank Him we may see His salvation in the challenges that face our nation.

 Alexis de Tocqueville the French noblemen and sociologist came to America and wanted to understand why this nation, so young a nation had risen to a position of power and prominence so quickly and was so blessed and so great.

He traveled across this land and studied American society; He spoke with the people in the streets , in the fields , in small towns and cities.  He spoke with people in the class room, the court house and even in the board rooms.

His findings were published in his two volume work Democracy in America, published in 1835 & 1840.

  

de Tocqueville noted  that there was  among Americans a common  faith.

Speaking of America’s relationship with and toward the God of the Bible and the blessings which flowed out of that relationship.

“Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secrets of her (America’s) genius and power”

“America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great”

“Christianity is the companion of liberty in all its conflicts-the cradle of its infancy, and the source of its claims”
    

 That is, de Tocqueville was seeing that the blessings of freedom which produces a great nation is produced, guided and sustained by Biblical Christianity, which is a relationship with God not a religion.

Please join me in prayer:

Thanks Giving Prayer

Father, we here now, together as a community both municipally and as part of the community of the Christian Church, thank You for the nation that we have been blessed to live and walk in.

Thank You for the freedoms and the blessings of Liberty. May they never cease or be taken from us, nor squandered by us.

Thank You for the nation whose history is like no other's.  For the heritage of great men and woman who built this land under Your province and leading them to established tenants of government, that have given us a general climate  of justness and fairness to live under. 

For the enforcement of just laws that give us a tranquil nation that we can live and walk without fear.

Thank You for the resources that are found upon and within this continent , for the land to sow and reap.  For the surplus of the field and the harvest, and the rain in due season. 

For the economic affluence and general prosperity that, we as a people have been blessed with.

Thank You, for the defense of this nation, and the arms by which we have been blessed with victory in times of strife.  Please keep us safe, be watchful over us, as the Psalmist wrote “unless the Lord keeps the city the guards maintain a useless watch”

You Lord , have made us the head and not the tail. Let us uses this prominence for the good of others and the defense of liberty. 

Let us recall what the Scripture says “ to whom much is given much is required”.

Let the peace never be shattered.  Give us the peace that comes only from You.  A peace that defies, and rises above, and is within us in spite of circumstances.

Thank You Lord, that we here, are still able to meet together without intrusion, regulation or interference. Please maintain this freedom,  that the word of God may ever go forth from the pulpits of the Churches. 

Thank You Lord for the great heritage of the Churches in this land.  May there be revival and unity break forth in and among them all. Let The Holy Spirit, Father, make You  known ever among us,  for as Apostle Paul wrote:

‘Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is Freedom”

Above all Lord, we thank You  for Your Son Jesus, and all the innumerable and uncountable blessings that are ours in Him, for all that He has,  and,  yet will ever do for us, and for Who He is..

 Let His name alone be exulted, for in Him are the answers to all needs both material and immaterial. For without Him, all these blessings can never be obtained or sustained.

Thank You Lord for all that has, is and will be ours.  Let us see Your salvation in the great challenges that lay before us all.  Heal our land O Lord, let us be the people, individually and collectively, that You have called us to be.

Let us be a united people under God.

And let it be, that Your Son be given the glory. In Him and in Him alone are found the answers to our nation’s challenges.  Let Jesus’ name alone be exulted in this land and beyond, for in Him are the answers to the great challenges that we face.

Thank You Lord for all that is ours’, all the Blessings that You have given. 

In Jesus' Name we thank You , and ask this.  Amen.
 

Rev.Todd Crouch, Pastor

The Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike.

Washington, Pennsylvania.   www.gcfountainoflife.org

The Fountain of Life is heard  on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM  in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com

The Manger:Where We Meet Our God

"Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel: and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel." Amos:4:12

Christmas , the celebration which notes the entrance of Jesus into the stream of human history. It has been celebrated over the centuries in  numerous ways . To some, Christmas  has become largely a commercial event, a time to generate revenues and profits.

It is noted by films that highlight "family values" and "togetherness" and "goodwill" a "time of sharing" and "serving" .    Those are good things , but they really are not good enough. Christmas should be about our Lord Jesus. If Christmas is not focused upon Jesus , then it is simply a social custom.  It is alright to do those things afor mentioned, but let them be done in light of Who Jesus is and His coming to us. Let them note that something miraculous has occurred for us all there in that far away, and unlikely  place in that far off time.  Something that  changed all things forever.

The Promised Seed

From the very beginning there has been the promise that God would provided the means whereby humanity would be saved out of  their estrangement from God, even as our first parents, under the deceptive sway of satan,  set the course of human civilization. 

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel"Genesis:3:15

This verse is called by some Theologians the "Proto Evangaliuem",   which means the First Preaching of the Gospel.  This is the message that has been consistent, that God will save His people. That He will be with them. In Jesus, Who The Apostle Paul identifies as "the Seed" , God has accomplished this and more for each of us. In Jesus,  God has come to us as one of us and He meets us all  in a very unlikely place.

To See The Glory

Moses during a time of prayerful dislodge with the Great God.  Moses asked to see what all humanity truly has sought  , even if they are unaware of it.

"And Moses said, I beseech you, show me your glory." Exodus:33:18

 And God responded by giving Moses just a glimpse of His glory.

  "And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, You can not see my face: for there will no man see me, and live": (19-20)

The Lord tells Moses that His face can not be seen, this means far more than we may first understand , what is being told to Moses and all of us , is that God was not yet incarnate, that is in the flesh in Jesus.
Apart from the incarnation we can not see the full glory of God, that is  "His face", we can only see a glimpse of it, "His back". 
 

 "And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen".(21-23)

Jesus is the face of God wherein we can truly see His glory at its greatest , as we are the recipients of His mercy and grace through Jesus, as the Lord God said to Moses:

"and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy"(19c)

Jesus Reveals God

At the conception  and birth of Jesus God has come to us, in the person of His Son. In Jesus we meet our God even  as we peer into  the manger of the  Nativity.  He is there come to us as one of us.  We are beholding the face of God even in the infant Jesus.

 In the Nativity there in the manger long ago, as we count years,  yet ever present for any who will but come forward to look and gaze upon the child Jesus, Who, was and is,  wrapped in swaddling clothes of  old linen strips used mostly to bury  the dead .
 If we will but look even here in the manger , we will see the glory of God;  we will meet our God there, even  in this the humblest of places. 

The shepherds who heard the angelic choir that night, long ago, and made their way to Bethlehem and look ed upon the face of Jesus saw the very glory that Moses asked to see. 

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told"  Luke:2:8-18

All the history of Israel was to prepare them and all humanity to encounter the great God, to meet God face to face in Jesus. 
  
 "Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel: and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel" Amos:4:12

 Jesus came to reveal to  us the Creator,  to give us what Moses asked  to see God;  to know God.

 "show me your glory" Exodus:33:18


In Jesus we come to know God. He has made this possible by becoming one of us.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." John:1:1-3

"and the Word became flesh"(14)

Jesus has come to show us the Glory of God its clearest most powerful way.


"Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.

If you had known me, you should have known my Father also: and from now on you know him, and have seen him.

Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffises us. Jesus said to him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet have you not known me, Philip? he that has seen me has seen the Father; and how say you then, Show us the Father? Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak to you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. Truly, truly, I say to you, He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to my Father.And whatever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. " John:14:6-13

From His very birth Jesus has been showing each of us the Glory of God in His very Self. Jesus , even in His High Priestly Prayer affirms this.

"I have glorified you on the earth: I have finished the work which you gave me to do. And now, O Father, glorify you me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world was."John:17:4-5

The Fullness  of God

In Jesus the fullness of God dwell in Him. we can encounter the fullness of God in the person of His Son. 

"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form",Colossians:2:9

  Meets Us Still

There in the manger, all of this was present made possible by the workings of the power of the great God. That Child, in this place suited more for livestock which stunk of the dung and animals. This is where we meet our God. Where we see His glory. Then and now.

 He is still meeting us in the places of our lives that have the offensive  smell of the dung of our broken humanity . He is there to assure us that God is near and He has come to us. He has come in the least threatening way possible to us. A baby. He does not want us to fear, rather,  He wants us to know that He loves us and has come to us even where we may not think to have found Him.

He loves us so much to have descend into the the humblest of places, the feeding trough of animals. He awaits each of us, ever still, there calling us to come and look upon Him and know that our God loves us.

Here ,in the Nativity manger,  is where we all see His glory and  first meet our God. Amen.

Rev.Todd Crouch, Pastor

The Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike.

Washington, Pennsylvania.   www.gcfountainoflife.org

The Fountain of Life is heard  on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM  in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com

Advent:Pregnant with Purpose

Advent, which means coming, is a traditional observance among more liturgical Christian bodies. It is spread over several weeks leading up to Christmas; each Sunday of Advent offers us a look into the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Advent actually begins a segment of the liturgical calendar which extends into January with the Epiphany . Advent may be  described as a "progressive retrogression", that is it begins in the future and moves into the past.

Dear Reader Please Scroll Down to Read 

the First Installment(s) in the  Advent Series

Advent: Fourth Sunday 12/22/2013  :His Purpose In Us

The angel Gabriel  came to young Mary there in Nazareth and gave to her the message that she would be the one who would bare the long anticipated Messiah. 

That promise that resound down through the ages; for the confines of Eden ,that the, awaited One was now come. 

This anticipation would culminate  in an unlikely  time and place.


Anticipation that God would save His people.They had sought it and longed for it now it was come. God would come Himself to each and all. 
 
"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in to her, and said, Hail, you that are highly favored, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary: for you have found favor with God. And, behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS"  Luke:1:26-30

Mary, with the conception of Jesus,  now became , what is called by some theologians, the "Theotokos",  which means the God-bearer.  Mary would be in many ways what we all should be. All of us should bear the life of our Lord within us,  to the world around us, to be pregnant with the purpose of God. 

 The Magnificat

Mary yeilded her life to will of God seeing the magnitude of God's purposes revealed to her through Gabriel.   Mary yieldness brought honor to our Lord.

  "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word."(38)

 

When a woman is pregnant it is almost  always obvious to those around her, there is a radiance which shows from within. The life with in, has an outward impact ; but the life within Mary was that of the very Son of God. 

 Jesus was impacting those around Him even before He came forth out of the womb. We can see this very truth as Mary visits her older kinswoman Elizabeth in the Hill Country of Judea. Jesus in the life of Mary was bring joy to Elizabeth and even the unborn John.

  "And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spoke out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And what is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, see, as soon as the voice of your salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy."(39-44)
 
Jesus, in the life of Mary,  was bringing  joy to Elizabeth and her own unborn son John. This tell us that when we are pregnant with the purpose of our Lord in our own lives, His life with in us  can have impact, not just to those immediately around us but to future generations yet unborn.

 Mary then sings the Hymn , the Magnificat,  that has echoed through the ages acknowledging the Glory and Great Mercy that the Lord was showing to Israel and all peoples. It was  spontaneous yet inspired Hymn  similar in fashion to those found in the Old Testament such as the Song of Victory sung by the woman of Israel after the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus , and Hannah's song of praise in 1 Samuel. This hymn is some times called Mary's Song or Canticle of Mary. It is best known as the  

Mangnificat:

 "And Mary said, My soul does magnify the Lord,

 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

For he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from now on all generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty has done to me great things; and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

He has showed strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He has put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he has sent empty away.

He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever." (47-55)

Trusting God's Purpose

These words reflect the assurance that God's  will would be accomplished in Mary's life and the life of the people to whom the Messiah was coming, that is to all of us.

  The fulfillment would not be without suffering.  The delivering of Jesus in an out of the way place, in less than ideal conditions,  may have seemed to be a contradiction of the promised glory of the Messiah. There is no indication that Mary's labor was any different from others babies birth, there was tiring pain and blood. 

At Jesus' entrance  into human history there was little attention paid by the masses and the full impact of what had occurred, and what was begun at His  conception by the Holy Spirit ,  in the town of Nazareth,   would not  seen for years to come and beyond.  
That the true measure of which was seen at the cross, and then the empty tomb of Resurrection into the glory of the Messiah that came forth in that  lowly state there in Bethlehem.

God has visited His people He has assumed, and now shares our humanity so we might share his eternity .

" and the Word became flesh" John:1:14

Even there at birth we see the death of the cross which  awaited Him, symbolized in the wrapping of the child in  strips of swaddling clothes. This is sign to us that when we look into the manger of Bethlehem we will see the cross of Calvary,  Jesus being wrapped in the manger as He would be in the Tomb.

"and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them."  Luke:2:7

"And this shall be a sign to you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."(12)

  " Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,   and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away."   Matthew:27:59-60

Again,  this is a  sign to us that when we look into the manger of Bethlehem we will see the cross of Calvary.We can not separate the two they are forever joined in Jesus.

Uses Us

Our Lord used the life of one of us, that is Mary, to become  one of us. And even now Jesus is still one of us, yet , His Deity is undiminished. It is now,  that at the Resurrection that He is glorified. 

  "when he comes into the world, he said, Sacrifice and offering you would not, but a body have you prepared me:" Hebrews:10:5

 It is this  human body that stands glorified, even now in the heights of Heaven, this glorified humanity is what we ourselves will share with Him. That His birth and death has made possible  the way for us to have eternal life and to stand with Him in eternity.

 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does 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." 1John:3:2

Jesus became like us in birth and death so that we might become like Him in resurrection and life.

 An Ordinary Person

Mary was no different than we, she was  an ordinary girl , who yield herself and  was used by the Great God to bring forth Salvation to all who will be freely receive it. We ,like Mary,  if we but yield ourselves  to call of God upon our lives,  can be used by God to effect the lives of those around us for generations to come and beyond into eternity.  

This what the Lord can do in each of lives,  all for His glory and the Salvation of many around us.  this is but one of the many meanings to the Advent Season when we are pregnant with the purpose of God .Amen

Rev.Todd Crouch, Pastor

The Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike.

Washington, Pennsylvania.   www.gcfountainoflife.org

The Fountain of Life is heard  on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM  in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com

Advent: Rejoice!

Advent, which means coming, is a traditional observance among more liturgical Christian bodies. It is spread over several weeks leading up to Christmas; each Sunday of Advent offers us a look into the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Advent actually begins a segment of the liturgical calendar which extends into January with the Epiphany . Advent may be  described as a "progressive retrogression", that is it begins in the future and moves into the past.  

Dear Reader Please Scroll Down to Read 

the First Installment(s) in the  Advent Series

Gaudete Sunday ,the Third Sunday of Advent:12/15/2013 : Rejoice

The third Sunday of Advent has been  sometimes called Gaudete , or Rejoice Sunday. Gaudete is Latin word that is translated "rejoice" .  

When John stood on the banks of that Jordan he had a message which called on persons to repent ,that is,to change the way they thought and behaved. 

He called on the people of Israel to repent,  in light of the coming of the Messiah , to alter their lives, to be free of the ways that led to hart ache and suffering;

"In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" Matthew: 3:2-3

Jesus' coming into our lives always calls on us to repent, to change, but in doing so we can truly "rejoice and be glad in Him".  We can rejoice in that we can be free from the past ways of thinking and behaving that brought on so much suffering. There is hope.

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.  Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” Philippians: 4:4-6

This rejoicing is the understanding that the things of this world are temporal, and only last for a moment , both the good and the bad.  We can understand repentance as a letting go of the things of this life  and the world, that because of Jesus ‘ coming we can now take hold of the eternal. The things which are above.

All things of this life which brings us only momentary joy or suffering, what ever they might be are for this life alone. Gold , silver, titles, positions, fame, bricks and mortar ; all of it ends when we depart this life and are left behind.

Things Above

“If you then be raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory”. Colossians: 3:1-4

When we have let go of the things of this world, we have an eternity to look forward to, but even more we have Jesus here and now,  not just “someday”.

Paul wrote regarding Jesus, calling Him  , “who is our life” ; that is even now, Jesus is living moving and shaping us . We so often think of these things as just “some day”. But here and now we can rejoice over what is ours in our Lord,  this all the more,  should heighten our anticipation of what awaits in Him. We are able to have but a glimpse of it.

He Comes to Us

These are the things we can embrace and walk in,  as we live by the lead of the Holy Spirit.  We can rejoice as our Lord transforms us  in His coming, his advent  to us . Jesus lives in us and His life in us is demonstrated by the Fruit of the Holy Spirit,   and all the more His life is lived out in and by us.

This happens when Jesus “comes to us”.

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;” John: 14:16

“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.  a little while, and the world sees me no more; but you see me: because I live, you shall live also. At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you”(18-20)

When Jesus  comes to us then we should be as John Baptist said:

“He must increase, but I must decrease”John: 3:30

Those around us see this decreasing of “ourselves”, as the character attribute of Jesus Himself increases in our lives. The decreasing of the "fruit of the flesh", that is we have an all new life, the life of our Lord in us. Jesus did not just come to enhance our present life, that is amplifying us , rather He came to be our life,  it is a transposition from who we are , to being who He is. 

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that you would. But if you be led of the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, jealousies, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Contentions, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” Galatians: 5:16-26

  When we hear the call of John to repent of the things which have sowed such strife among us, when we experienced  the forgiveness of sin , there can be such joy come to us. 

Understand this, we are not just forgiven of what we have done, or thought,   that is ours sins, but rather we are forgiven of who and what we are. God in His Son, has dealt with the very heart of sin which is our flesh. 

We, in Christ , have been crucified, that is the very flesh form which our sin proceed from has been dealt with. The Apostle Paul writes of this crucifixion of our flesh through our Lord and what He accomplished for us.  

He has shared our Flesh that we might share eternity with Him.

"For the love of Christ constrains us; for we have considered , that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not from now on live to themselves, but to him which died for them, and rose again." 2Corinthians:5:14-15 

 We are, even now, are  new creations in Jesus. All that we were , is now past. We can rejoice in this.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ,he is a new creation;the old is gone; behold , all things are become new." (17)

The Joy Beyond

We can rejoice in Jesus' coming, His advent,  to us here and now knowing  amidst all that we might deal  with in this life what ever we contend with,  that beyond it all  is great eternal joy which awaits us. Just as our Lord faced the sufferings of the Cross He saw beyond it  all to the glory that awaited Him.

 "Looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."Hebrews:12:2


This joy, even facing the cross of  suffering ,can be ours as well,  when we take hold of all that our Lord has come to us that we might have. When we see it , that is,  what awaits us beyond all that we face in this life with its hardships and troubles and pain then we can rejoice. 

Consider that the Great God , has come for you and  I , for each and all,  none are found outside of His love.   He Loves each of us and would not be without us.  He has come in the person of His Son Jesus, He has come to die that we might live. He has come to show us that He loves us more than He loves Himself and proved it in taking on our flesh and dieing in it.  Jesus' coming, His advent,  was an act of love not just a necessity.  

"God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that who so ever believes in Him should not perish have eternal life" John:3 :16

When we come to grasp the depth of God's love for us it  should alter our lives,  transform us.  If we could only take hold of it ,we would be forever changed by it.Joy would fill us and rejoicing would break forth in or lives.

 Jesus' coming , His advent, brings us great joy, a joy that can resound in this life as we rejoice in Him here and now and on into  eternity,   giving Him all the praise and glory for what is Advent has brought to us. Amen.

Rev.Todd Crouch, Pastor

The Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike.

Washington, Pennsylvania.   www.gcfountainoflife.org

The Fountain of Life is heard  on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM  in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com