Good morning, all!

Father, we know all are Your sons and daughters and just like the prodigal we return to You, our Father. Help us to remember that throughout the course of the day, the week, our life and know that You lose none for by Your grace, all are saved, Amen. Easter is such a great time of the year. It’s a sign of new beginnings and a sign to return to the Lord.

Jeremiah 33

9 And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
And My bride will bring Me joy, praise and honor before ALL nations, and they will HEAR of all the good I do for them: they will be overwhelmed with the goodness and prosperity I have planned for them.

10 Thus saith the LORD; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say [shall be] desolate without man and without beast, [even] in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast,
The Lord speaks, AGAIN there will be heard in this life, one that is void of man and beast, even in the church, which is also void of man, strangers, and beast.

11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD [is] good; for his mercy [endureth] for ever: [and] of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.
A VOICE of joy, a VOICE that is glad, the VOICE of the Bridegroom and the VOICE of the bride, and all those voices shall praise the Lord of ALL creation, why? Because He is GOOD, and His mercy can NEVER run dry: and when Calvary has come, the only sacrifice we have to offer in God’s house is PRAISE. For God Himself will cause this return from the captivity in which we’ve been held, just as it was in the beginning.

12 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds causing [their] flocks to lie down.
The Lord speaks, AGAIN in this life, which is NO longer influenced by man or beast, and in ALL circumstances, we face we will be just like our Shepherd and live in peace with the people in our life.

Bottom line

How many times do we see in the bible when Israel or certain prophets were held in captivity? I don’t think it’s any different today, we’re all captive by our own thoughts at times, right? How about COVID? It held the world captive for two years. I don’t know call me crazy but maybe God has lessons for all of us in these circumstances. It’s like that song by En Vogue… “Free your mind and the rest will follow”. I mean, Jesus did say Follow Me? This is a beautiful passage in scripture when God is speaking to the church and after some tough years there’s going to be a RETURN, a return to joy and gladness. I hope you can see it this morning, God says during captivity certain things became desolate…they’re no longer going to influence us anymore. And what became desolate? THIS PLACE…it’s your mind. And what did God remove while we were in captivity? A man, a stranger and a beast. The man is Adam, that’s the one who thinks they know it all based on reason and logic…the opposite of living by faith. The stranger is the church, they think they know God based on all the rules and regulations they expect everyone to follow and then punish them if they fall short…so much for Calvary. And the beast, well the Bible speaks about the beast IN THEE…it’s when our emotions get the best of us, and we won’t budge just like a mule. Budge from what? From whatever has held you captive and kept you from a true relationship with God. It can be your past, it could be old religious beliefs, it could be our good friend pride that just won’t allow us to forgive or be forgiven. Think about it, it’s kind of hard for ALL nations…the world…to hear YOUR voice praise and thank God ALWAYS if your faith is based on reason and logic, and your forgiveness is based on works and your acceptance or rejection depends on how your beast is feeling that day. Now did you notice when we got our voice back? What do you know it appears we have a wedding, and we can hear the Bridegroom’s voice first and then the Bride. Perhaps they’re singing? And what might they be singing about? Oh…the Lord is GOOD, and His MERCY never ends. Now if my memory is correct, I believe scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is the Bridegroom and the church is the Bride…that would be US, I would say that’s cause for celebration. Scripture also says can two walk together except they be agreed? NO, they can’t be married…not if one is motivated by the Cross and the other pride…why else do you think Jesus gets rid of it? He wants His Bride, He really does love us. And look how these verses end, the Shepherd will cause the flock to lie down…total peace…no threat of danger…no threat of hurt…no worries…no conflict. And if my memory serves me correctly again, doesn’t the Lamb defeat the beast in the end? And if we’re one with Christ then aren’t we a Lamb as well? I pray we begin to see the power of the Lamb in our life and believe it, now all we have to do is let the nations hear our VOICE and declare the goodness of God in this life.

Point to Ponder

Return to Sender, you know who the Sender is? [Psa 6:4, 10 NLT] Return, O LORD, and rescue me. Save me because of your unfailing love. Wherever you find yourself today the Sender’s unfailing love for you will send you back to His arms…He can’t fail.

Let’s all return our hearts back to Him again, In Him Phil

Faith – Family – Friends