HE IS RISEN!!

The front section of the paper was filled with pictures of destruction. Hills literally melting into vast mud slides, taking homes with them, water overflowing in the city streets, wild winds and even tornados were all graphically displayed. Yes, this thing called "El Niño" was certainly devastating. Strange that "El Niño" is, in Spanish, the name for the Christ Child, I mused as I continued to thumb through the paper. Suddenly, I discovered buried in the middle, a whole section which startled me in its bold contrast. Pictures of lush flowers of every hue, gorgeous, huge blossoms with exotic names, lilies in abundance filled the pages entitled "Coat of Many Colors" and sub titled "The Desert Gives Thanks for Life Giving Rain". WOW did my juices start flowing! Scriptures hidden in my heart for years surfaced one after another as I read the article in amazement. It told us that this once in a lifetime phenomenon came about not just because of the amount of rain that has happened before but because of the timing of the rain early and late rains (or as the Bible calls them, former and latter rains) coming in the same year. The article described carpets of flowers such as old timers have never seen not just more flowers but much bigger. Lilies that look much like our Easter lilies but with far more blooms per flower came forth, also never before seen by this generation of desert dwellers. The bulbs were reported to be buried so deep in the barren desert that only these rains could reach them. The writer was wise to bring out what was obvious, "Let's just remember that the hand of man had nothing to do with this." All this was called "the rainbow shaded lining of El Nino". Maybe not such a strange name after all, I thought as I dug into my scriptures.

The blossoming of the desert was always a consistent sign in the books of the prophets of God's revival and restoration of His fallen people. It happened at times when His people were in captivity and sometimes so blind they didn't even know it! God sent devastations and darkness judgements to awaken them and remind them of His might and power things that they were helpless against so they would return to the reverential fear of the Lord. But in the midst of judgement, God also displayed His incredible mercy by visiting the barren wastelands, and causing them to bloom so that all would know His Hand alone had done it. The wilderness was representative of the barren, impossible state of the people a graphic picture of their lives at the point where He chose to come and do a new thing for the sake of His Name. It was in this context that the following verses were given.

"The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom... It shall blossom abundantly..." "Then shall the lame man shall leap like a hart and the tongue of the dumb shall sing for joy for waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert." (Is. 35:1,2,6) "I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness... that man may see and know and consider and understand together that the Hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it." (Is. 41:18 20) "... rejoice in the Lord your God for He gives you the former rain... and He causes to come down for you the rain, the former and the latter rain as before." (Joel 2:23) "Behold I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." (Is. 43:19) There are many more which I can't elaborate on here but it is wonderful to realize what God is saying to us today.

I wish you all knew each other as we know each of you because God has made us one but I think we can agree together for each other as we perceive and give heed to the Word of the Lord. Some of you reading this are in situations far beyond the help of man. There are those who are wounded so badly by people they have lost confidence in God. Others are financially destroyed with no way out, some because of their own doings. Many have sought deliverance in areas of their lives for years, tried and fought and now feel it is useless. Some have lost children to the world systems and can hardly believe it is possible to gain them back. I know ones of you who have received the sentence of death on your bodies by men who have given up on you. For some it may be that God is calling you home but it could be there lies deep in you an earthly calling or an unfinished part of your race even you have forgotten in your battle. The point I'm making is that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life NOTHING is impossible for him and resurrection only comes to dead and barren things that's exactly where Jesus shows up so no man can glory and say, "I did this".

Dear child of God, at this glorious Easter time, let us turn our hearts together to the Resurrected Christ. It doesn't even matter how you got where you are as long as you have repented of known sin. The Lord has told me this month to "strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong, fear not. Behold your God will come... He will come and save you' ." (Is. 35:3,4) In the place where you are most barren, in your deepest desert place, may seeds planted long ago that you may not even know are there, come forth in Jesus' Name. God said in Zech. 10:1, "Ask of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain"... I believe we are in that time (in the Spirit) right now. And His promise is to strengthen us, save us and bring us back to Himself (vs. 6); to go before us, making a way through the sea of distress and affliction so that we may glory in His Name. (vs. 11,12)

And so let us now agree together. Lord, we ask of You for the latter rain. We would not be a people who would hold You back from doing a new thing. Come into our wilderness places and water the seeds of life You planted deep within us. Give us faith to believe You for the impossible for resurrection of things of You that have died in us. Flow Holy Spirit. Be glorified that we may in turn glorify You. Amen and amen. We love you!!