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Thirty-Nine! A Poem about the Resurrection of Christ. The pavement was cold I knelt there and cried, Jesus stood alone betrayed and denied, The soldiers cursed and swore and struck him with a reed, They made a crown of thorns; his head began to bleed, His dislocated bones cracked as he was tied, His body heaved and groaned as the lashes were applied! I counted every lash til’ I got to thirty-nine, Every cruel gash that cut his back was mine! Every stripe was mine but, He took every one! All thirty-nine were laid upon God’s Son, All my disease and all my pain, Is healed in his name He paid for every one. I stood there feeling numb as they threw him down, They spiked him to the cross, His blood spilled on the ground, The cross was lifted up and jolted in a hole! He cried out in such pain! It sent shudders through my soul! My sin had nailed him there, The death was mine to die! Mine and mine alone, Yet he was crucified!

The Way of the Master - Part 3 Larry D. Kettle January 1, 2017 “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. [1] This would be the last lesson that the Master teacher would teach his disciples before he rose from the dead. It was a radical teaching and that wasn’t a new thing.   The disciples were often cut to their very hearts, as the Master would lay open their wrong motives, their pride, and their lust for power. It was uncanny how he could always see right through them and though they would often feel expos

The Way of the Master -Part 2 By Larry D. Kettle 1-1-17 Having loved his own who were in the world, 2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied , “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” said Peter, Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. He now showed them the full extent of His love.

The Way of the Master By Larry D. Kettle January 1, 2017 John 13   It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.          It had been a long and tiring day filled with the usual conflicts and controversies among the disciples as well as the diversity of response that Jesus had experienced from the crowds that He taught and ministered to. He had experienced many days like this but He knew it was getting close to His time to leave the world and return to the Father so there wouldn’t be many days left.   This day had been usual in many ways but unusual in the fact that there was fever pitched response to His ride on the donkey both positive and negative.   He had fulfilled Isaiah and Zechariah’s prophesy concerning the Messiah’s entry into Jerusalem.   It wasn’t what His followers were expecting and it certainly wasn’t what the Zealots of the city were hoping for.          Jesus was longing to c

What is a Pentecostal Christian? Have you ever heard of a “Holy Roller”?   You know one of those people who go to a church where they swing from chandlers, jump pews, and shout in church.   Oh and they “speak in tongues”.   Well, indeed I have!   I am one of those “Pentecostal Christians”. I want to give you an opportunity to know about Pentecostals from a Pentecostal perspective.   My purpose is not to be defensive about my beliefs or offensive towards anyone with opposing beliefs.   So here goes! The word “Pentecost” was associated with a feast that was associated with the harvest time in ancient Israel.   The word actually means ‘fifty” and it was a feast that happened fifty days after the Passover.   The Priests would wave the first sheaves of wheat in celebration of the anticipated harvest. The observance of this feast gave the Jews an opportunity to declare their faith and trust in God to give them the strength to bring the full harvest in and to give them abunda

To be or not to be? To be or not to be? Is that the question? Many people ask "who am I"? As a grown man I ask "what will I be when I grow up? If you are like me you like to have something to look forward to! We are human beings but we often identify ourselves as "human doings"! We are always doing something so we can be "something else." I have a friend who loves to remind me that "it takes a big dog to weigh a ton"! Being the analytical person that I am I have to look for the deeper meaning! Why did the dog have a need to weigh a ton? Why couldn't he be satisfied to be a little dog that weighed whatever he was created to weigh? What is that dog going to do with himself after he gets that big? To be a ton or not to be a ton? Why does it matter? When I grow up am I going to be the big dog doing the big dog stuff or am I going to be the contented dog; doing what I enjoy because I enjoy being who I am! To enjoy is to "joy in&qu