Sunday, July 7, 2013

EARLY

Suggested Reading: 2 Chronicles 29

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

 

Looking up to the western side of the southwest containment wall of the Temple Mount, you can see protruding from the wall what is now called Robinson's Arch. This was once a magnificent staircase that led up to the Temple Mount. The two pictures below are from inside a ritual bath just beneath Robinson's Arch, where pilgrims had to cleanse themselves before entering the Temple Mount.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

 

Key Verse: 2 Chronicles 29:20

Then King Hezekiah rose EARLY, gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord.

Consider the word, “EARLY.” Hezekiah had his priorities in order. Abraham, the friend of God, began “EARLY” (recorded 4 times). Moses and the word “EARLY” connect 6 times. Joshua, 5 times, and in the Psalms and Proverbs we are encouraged to be “EARLY” 11 times. In the Gospels (NKJV) the word “EARLY” shows up 9 times. To get to my motivating verse for my 4 a.m. rising time to prepare my heart and mind for the daily blog, I quote to myself frequently from the New International Version, Mark 1:35, “Very EARLY in the morning, while it was yet dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went to a solitary place, where He prayed.” Jesus always lived His life as “Son of man,” not using the fact that He was 100% God to help Himself. I’m convinced that the EARLY time with His Father was the reason He could say, “The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” Like Jesus, we need to wait on God EARLY if possible, in order to get our instructions for the day. Making notes, or journaling, as we pray, is a very effective way to check up on ourselves. I’ve just given 3 cheers for Hezekiah!!! Hip Hip Hooray!!!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I pray for consistency in my appointments with You every morning. Jesus shows me the way to learn how to please You every day. I give myself to You as fully as I know how. I’m listening for Your voice within my spirit just now, then I expect to receive the grace to obey. In the Name of the One who always pleased You, Lord God, Jesus Himself, Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

My son Ron asked if he could write the “100 Personal Words” today with a story of his own. I said Yes:

Hi…Ron here. This is one of my favourite “EARLY” stories about Dad…

When I was a teenager, I was part of our high school basketball team. I remember having to wake up extremely early one morning in order to attend a practice, which our overly zealous coach had scheduled well before the school day began. My teammates and I were far from enthusiastic about having to get our bodies out of bed that early, but that was the only time the gymnasium was available before our big championship game. So I set my alarm for “dark and early.” When the dreaded beeping noise hit my ears, I reluctantly rolled out of bed, got dressed, and tiptoed my way through the dark hallway and down the stairs, being careful not to wake anyone else in the family. However, when I got to the living room, I was surprised to see the lights on and hear someone speaking. When I looked to my left, I saw my Dad kneeling next to the couch with dozens of pieces of paper spread out all over the furniture. I paused long enough to figure out what was going on. Dad was in prayer, weeping and interceding before God on behalf of the many who had written to him as a result of the recently launched 100 Huntley Street daily TV program. He never saw me as I continued tiptoeing out the door and off to my practice. That experience deeply impacted me. It strongly reinforced to my heart the truth of Dad’s genuine passion for God and passion for people. He wasn’t on television because of any ego trip or because he needed a job. He was called by God to share the love of Jesus to a lost and hurting world. He often says, “One soul is worth more than the whole world!”…and he has always lived what he believed. After that, I could think of nothing else I wanted to do with my life than work with my Dad. — Ron Mainse

Looking up from the Mikvot (ritual bath) you can see Robinson's Arch, which was one of the ancient entrances to the Temple Mount. You can see the divider in the stairway to separate those who were unclean from those who came up purified.

18 thoughts on “Sunday, July 7, 2013

  1. Rising early with our Lord, following the lead of Jesus, right along with you, David Mainse. Thank you for a great reminder, once again, about the importance of making early time with our Lord. Thank you so much for the personal memory, Ron, that speaks of the amazing integrity and depth of the calling of your father. Thank you, Reynold, for the amazing photos. Wish I had more time to write. Blessings to all saints, today. Let us worship our King with rolling thunder.

  2. Thank you Ron for sharing this vivid memory of your father, David Mainse. No “ego trip” or “job” could have survived the many years and countless prayers you father earnestly raised to heaven to reach out for all of us! You were blessed more than words can tell, with two wonderful parents who set out a foundation of love and support throughout your lives. Early in your life, and still today, we are blessed with their presence, prayers and wisdom shared. I am grateful to read what is there to read in this blog every morning. The past year has flown by and the days are counting down to the end of this year ehere we are priviledged to hear what your father has to share. Thank you for all the work you contribute behind the scenes in preparation of this blog! Have a great day in worship!

  3. I too Hip Hip Hooray to Hezekiah…….and thanks Ron for sharing your wonderful memory with us. I bless The Mainse family today and thank all of you for your continuing service to The Lord.

    Quiet time with The Lord EARLY is special and cannot be matched, preparing us for our day.

    Thank you Pastor David for your faithfulness to our blog and the wisdom God imparts to you, and then to us.

    Blessings as we go to our places of worship today….praying ONE soul will come to know Jesus today.

    Wondering how your visit to the oncologist went Janet?

    • Hi Catherine,
      thanks for asking and remembering. I had the ultrasound and CT scan yesterday done but not yet seen my oncologist till this coming Thursday. Thanks for praying. I will update you and others then.
      Pastor David, thanks for your years of faithfulness in the Lord and your genuine love for the needy and the lost, your sheep assigned by the Lord to you. Your early rising to worship and pray to God set a firm example and leave sounding impact not only to your children, confirmed by Ron, but also to all your sheep. I counted my tremendous blessing in reading your blog and learn from your teachings in the Bible and your walk with God.
      Thank you also to my fellow bloggers and all your love and prayers and your contribution to this blog , allowing me to experience and
      witness the fullness of the body of Christ.
      THANK You and Hip Hip Hooray to you all.Praise our Lord!
      Janet

  4. 2 Chronicles 29:6 “For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the Lord our God; they have forsaken Him, have turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the Lord, and have turned their backs on Him.”

    This particular verse struck me between the eyes this morning. If you took this verse and placed it into a different context by removing ‘Lord’ and ‘Him’ and replacing the words with ‘Jesus’, it really becomes personal. In some regards it seems negative, but I think it’s good to look at ourselves honestly, and to ask ourselves how we could be serving the Lord or how we could better serve the Lord in our lives. Have we forsaken Him for other gods? Are we of active service to our local church? or do we prefer the comfortable pew? I think these are helpful questions to ask ourselves upon personal reflection, meditation and prayer.

    The Bible speaks truth into our lives, the Holy Spirit can stir our hearts to action.

    • Thank you Scott for your input, and putting Jesus in the verse certainly makes it personal. Looking at ourselves honestly is always a good thing. Bless you.

  5. Yes it is so precious to me to hear of a close relationship with you godly father and you are so nlessed to have been raised in a Christian home and thank you so much for making me a part of learning all your personal experiences from your early years what touched your heart to want to serve God for the rest of your life , I m so enjoying to hear your fathers young life how he was raised and the hardships he faced , As we all face this world with all its ungodly decisions its nce to know that God is working in each and every life of God s children to make us more like his son Jesus , continue Lord Jesus to give David the strength and health to fulfill his hearts desire to serve uou in this blog and minister to us your children in Jesus precious name Amen May God Heal you fully in jesus name Amen

  6. …that is what it’s all about, leading by example! The example of God’s Son given to us and His great love for us, and we in return giving to those in need of His words of encouragement! This is the example I will leave for my children and grandchildren for many generations to come.
    You & Huntley St sharing His love have taught me and brought me through many trials in the few years that I have grown to know and love Jesus. Blessings to you and your family. Your sister in Christ, Linda Price

  7. God bless you David and Ron. Your blogg is a wonderful part of my morning worship. Your love for others is what makes your ministry so powerful.

  8. A few years back I kept waking up quite early in the morning- annoyed that I could not go back to sleep. It continued for weeks until I got the hint and realized since I was up anyway, this was the best time to spend alone with God. I was free of any distractions and it was like giving God the first fruits of my day, before I did anything else I was His. Some mornings it can be a struggle to get out of bed, but I never regret my early morning time with the Lord—and now it will be extra special knowing it is a Scriptural practice and many of my fellow Christians are up and praying along with me. It is amazing how God works.

  9. All of us who have joined the daily blog this past year have been so blessed by the profound teaching .Thank you sincerely Ron for sharing this touching intimate moment of your childhood and the enormust impact your fathers deep devotion made on you and by the same token on so many of us through the ministry of Crossroads .
    Blessed day everyone.
    XXXX Carole.

  10. Thank you David M for another great ‘lesson’ in commitment and faithfulness in our relationship with the Lord, and thank you Ron, for sharing such a beautiful moment in time of your Dad.

  11. I am so grateful to our Heavenly Father that He works through me to will and do according to His good pleasure. What a wonderful, beautiful,exciting, 100 percent, one on one relationship. God is faithful. Love endures forever.

  12. Well to be honest I use to be an early bird. Five am. was just an every day thing for me. I would listen to music in the bath room as I prepared for my day. I was quiet I didn’t want to wake any one. Back then I was not a Christian my reasons for rising early were self motivated. I was mostly an early riser up until the fall of 2010.

    Since that time I went through major changes health wise and I simply was un able to rise early. Mostly because for over two years I could not fall a sleep. I would spend the night reading my blble andI would be waiting patiently for the rapture.

    In 2011 it was David and Norma- Jean who sujested I try malitonan be for bed. It is a natural supliment that helps you fall asleep. It did help for a while.
    So for months I litteraly could not keep my eyes open between six am and ten am. bacause I was Up all night . It was horrible. Thank God my family was understanding.

    The worst thing was …
    If some one came to my home before 10:30 am chances were I would not even be up little lone dressed . It was horrible. I know what the bible says about lazyness . It is a sin . My situation would drive me to tears. We were always the last ones in the door at church. It was embarressing .

    Things are better these past few weeks I am able to fall a sleep. Now I’m up at 5:45am every morning. I’m getting my life back. I still have a few health issues but nothing The Lord can’t help me help my self with. Please pray for me. God knows what I need better than I do. Please pray that I can contiue to rise early for prayer.Pease pray I will over come my health issue. Thank you!

    Lord please have some one read my late posted comment. So they can pray for me.
    In Jesus name Amen!!!

    M. 🙂

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