GET TOGETHER- HE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN

Lu 4:18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; This week while J.J. has been at her Mom and Dad’s I have spent some time at night reading the word, praying and listening and singing along with worship music. Please keep her Mom in your prayers as she is recovering from a fall that she had last week. I love all kinds of Christian music. I listen to everything from the Happy Goodman’s, the Gaithers, traditional hymns, Bethel music and other contemporary worship songs. If the Holy Spirit gave it to someone and somehow, they encountered God in writing the song I love it. One of my new favorites is Graves Into Gardens by Brandon Lake and Elevation Worship. There is so much in that song that reminds me of what Jesus has done in my life and what I have seen Him do in the lives of others. It also inspires me to pray for others that they may know Him as their Lord and Savior. That they may know Him as the one who can heal their broken hearts. That they can know Him as the One who can do great and mighty things in their lives. In the song some of the verses say He turns graves into gardens. You may be reading this and at sometime in your life you have experienced some heart break. You may have even experienced some quiet recently. Be assured of this fact. Jesus Christ can turn that grave into a garden in your life. In the song a continual line that is sung is “He is the only one who can.” Be assured that Jesus Christ can turn that grave into a garden. where other things and other people can’t, but He can! Some of you may be like I was and you have a very sinful past, or might even be living in a sinful lifestyle at this time. There is another line in the song that says “He turns shame into glory. The One that we celebrate His birth this time of the year came to earth to save us from our sins and to turn our shame into glory. The shepherds heard the angel proclaim one night as recorded in Lu 2:9-11 “And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. As our Savior Jesus Christ is our Healer, our Deliverer, our Protector. He is everything that He says He was in Luke 4:18 and throughout the Gospels. One of my favorite lines in the song is “He turns seas into highways.” We know that God did this for Moses and the children of Israel. For us today we sometimes have faced some situations, or circumstances and we needed a sea turned into a highway. I can’t list here how many times that the Lord has come through for us in a supernatural way to make a way for us. I don’t remember if it was last night, or night before last when this thought came to me as I was listening and singing along with some worship music. I thought back many years ago before I met J.J. and would later meet Jesus Christ. There were a lot of nights that I sat at home by myself there in Hull Camp in Walker County. I would put on music. But it wasn’t about turning graves into gardens. I was doing drugs and listening to a lot of music that said well you are in the grave and you will just have to stay there. Here are the ashes and you might as well drink and drug them away. Those old songs of self-pity and defeat were in my spirit.

Other nights I would go to the various night clubs looking for some way to turn the graves into gardens. Or as Brandon Lake sings “I searched the world and it couldn’t feel me, but You (Jesus) came along and put me back together.”
Praise God that when we allow Him to turn our graves into gardens we can walk in victory and not in defeat. That is why I really love this time of the year. We celebrate that Jesus Christ, born of a Virgin came to the earth to turn graves into gardens. I believe that what the Prophet Isaiah said that God would do for Israel that the Lord Jesus Christ will do for us. Isa 61:3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”(NKJV)
Here is the link to the song. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KwX1f2gYKZ4&feature=youtu.be
Take some time to listen to it. If Jesus Christ has done this in your life take sometime to give Him praise. If you feel like your life situation is a grave and all you can see are the ashes that come by our sins, mistakes, sins of others, or some of life’s terrible events turn to Him today. He will give you beauty for ashes! He will turn seas into highways! He will turn shame into glory! He will turn bones into armies!

Let Us Pray
Lord Jesus Christ we praise Your great and wonderful Name! Thank You for coming to the earth. Thank you for being born in a manger! Thank You for dying on the cross and being raised from the dead. May those reading this that need a grave turned into a garden look to you and receive hope. May those who need a sea turned into a highway receive a miraculous work from Your Mighty Hand. May all of the brokenhearted be healed. May all who are oppressed be set at liberty. may all who are blind have their eyes opened both physically and spiritually.
In Jesus Name
Amen

If you live in the Hamilton, or in driving distance and you need to be in a group where you can overcome the power of sin and addiction in your life we invite you to Jesus Now in the Middle Building at Christ Community Fellowship at 6:P.M. tonight.

Love you all. Please keep J.J.’s mom in your prayers.
Your Friend/Kinfolk
Preston