Where is He?

[BigBruzer*{MEOW}*]

Luk 2:43  And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not [of it].


 Luk 2:44  But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among [their] kinsfolk and acquaintance.


 Jhn 20:15  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

Notice she said, " supposing him to be the gardner."

This was a happy exciting time of the year for the Jews, because they traveled to Jerusalem for a feast time.  This one was called the feast of the passover.  Jerusalem is placed geologically on a high point.  So reference reads that when you go to Jerusalem, you will read, they went " up to " Jerusalem.  When they went, they sang songs of " ascentiion. "  When you read Psalms 121 to 135 you are reading songs of what they sang, when they went to " Passover."  Songs like, ' When the Lord turned again, the captivity of Zion."  " The Lord hath done great things for His people."  They sang, " Those that sow in tears, shall reap in Joy."   It was a happy time, going to Jerusalem.  They clapped, they sang, they danced on their way to Jerusalem that once a year.

After it was over, they went " down " to their homes singing about the blood that saved them sing, isn't he good, he is just great. and he done what he said he would.  They left singing and clapping and enjoyed their happiness.  We read in Luke 2 that they had traveled one solid day, and she came to her senses and said....."Where is Jesus?"  Jesus at the time was her 12 yr. old son.  "Where's Jesus?"
She ran to Joseph and asked have you seen Jesus?  No I thought you had him.  They asked, around to their family and aquaintences, " have you seen Jesus, where is he?"  They began to cry, and be afraid for him and called His name....Jesus, Jesus.  They were so caught up in their singing and their rejoicing, that they had left behind, one of the main characters in the Christmas story, one of the main characters in their life, the Messiah, he was gone.

They had traveled a day's journey, " supposing " he was their with them, but they came to the realization that he was not.  So they had to stop and turn around and retrace their steps back to the city.  On the 3rd day they retraced their way back to the temple and found Him right where they hand left him, in the temple.  He was answering their questions and astounding the people, not where they "lost" him, but where they "left" Him. 

It is very easy to get caught up in singing, it is very easy to get caught up in dancing, it is very easy to get caught up in religion and really not know where Jesus is!  Is it possible to learn how to sing?  Is it possible to learn how to clap our hands?  Is it possible to dance and rejoice and not know where Jesus is??

If there is one thing that we must understand, it is this....We can not make it without Jesus!  This is a new year.  Is there a time in your life that you were closer to Jesus than you are right now?  If there is one thing in this squad that we should know right now, is this......WE CAN NOT MAKE IT WITHOUT JESUS!  This year is one more year closer to his return and we can't just " think " i am saved.  I can't " suppose " I am saved.  I can't suppose he is in my life.  I can't suppose He is walking with me.  I can't think that because my Pastor is a fireball, that i am going to have it.  I can't think that because i went to a service that was moving and stirring He is with me.  I would to God that we could be saved because we were a family we would be saved.  I would to God that we could be saved that we were a squad together we could be saved, because some of you people are the best people in the whole wide world.  But we are not saved that way.  I can't get you to Heaven, your mom and dad can't get you to heaven.  I wish you could get to heaven on your wifes salvation because some of us have the most precious wives on the face of the earth, BUT WE CAN'T!!! 

If we are going to make it from this world to the other side in Heaven it will be because Jesus lives on the inside of me, and he is in my life!  Listen, they went a whole days journey and they didn't even recognize he was not with them!  Mary of all people, knowing who he was,  knowing it was a special birth, not knowing a man, you would think, she would be more like.....where is he?  Every 5 seconds, where is he?  That is the Messiah, I have got to take care of Him, I can't let anything happen to him.  He had become so " common " to Mary that she didn't even check.  She just supposed He was there.  This is no time to just suppose!  We must know that we have a relationship with the Lord Jesus!  Saying you go to this church, or sing these songs, will not save you!  You must know that Jesus is in your heart, that He is the rythum of that heartbeat.  You simply must know!

If we really knew, if we really realized that Jesus was in our lives, our Sunday morning services would be a lot different!  I'm not judging, if anything, i am judging myself, but things would be so different in our lives.  Just because we have great families, and wonderful aquaintences, and the best singing in our churches, and have services that make us tingle,it  does not mean that we have Jesus in us!  We must know that we have had an experience with Jesus!!  Let's not suppose we are saved, lets not guess we have Him.  We must know he is there!   Why is Bruzer talking like this?  Because He is coming soon.  It is about going to heaven or it is going to hell.  I want you to know He is there!  I don't want you to guess He is there!  I don't want us and this squad to barely make it in, I want us to knock the gates down!  There is no sense in us sitting back and hoping we make it, when we are so blessed to have the MEOW CHAPEL on the Internet.  We teach Jesus, we watch the time of the end, we share songs, we ask for prayer, we bring one anothers name up in our services for prayer!  I don't know about you all, but i come right out and say TK and his wife needs prayer, I say Crazykat is fighting a battle and he needs prayer, I say this family has a need, or so and so has a question to be answered!  I want the Lord Jesus to know I am here and you are here, and we had better tell the Lord Jesus in our prayers that we are blessed to have this Chapel here.  Because to me it is the best thing on the whole Internet!

When it is your time, do you want Jesus to say, oh let's see, yeah, Mrs TK, yes, you were saved on June 1st 1995, yes please come in.  I don't want Him to have to look up a date!  I want him to know me and hear him say....oh Bruzer, You are here we have been waiting for you!  I have a great place prepared for you, i just can't wait to see your face when i show it too you!  I want a personal relationship, i want him to know me on a first name basis!  I don't read the bible because " I have to."  I don't pray every day because I have to.  I do it so i know him!  I want to talk to Him.  I want Him to know I am there for him.  I read because i "get" too.  I pray because there are a lot of things i want to know about.  I pray thank you for blessing me, thank you for saving me.  Help our squad Lord Jesus.........I want to know He is there.

Jesus writes 7 letters to the churches in the book of Revelation.  The first letter is the one to the church in Ephesus.  You will hear preachers all over preach that they lost their first love.  That is not what the bible reads.  It reads that they " left " their first love!  When you leave something, you know where to go back and find it.  When Mary and Jesus realized that Jesus was gone, ( they did not lose Jesus, they Left Jesus ) they knew where to go back and find Him.  It took them a day to get back there, but when they got there, they found Him in the temple, just where they left Him. 

If you are just a little cold or backsliden in spirit, I guess the Lord has asked Bruzer to tell you something.  The Lord Jesus is right there where you left Him.  It may take a little bit to get back to Him, but He is there waiting for you.  He hasn't gone anywhere.

The bible says that one will be taken, and one will be left.  That is 50%.  Which 50 do we want to be in?  I don't know when he is coming back, but I want to make sure that He is in my company.  I want to Know the Lord Jesus is right here with me. 

Lets move from when he was 12 years old, to after his death.  Mary Magdalene, a woman whom he had delivered from so much, came to the seplechur to see Him.  The bible says that she was coming there to annoint and to mourn the passing of the man that had saved her life.  When she walked up, there was a man standing there.  The bible says that she supposed him to be the "Gardner."  The man who had brought her out of sin.  The man that had delivered her, who had set her free.   She didn't even recongnize Him.  She thought, he was the gardner.  How tragic is this, that we have Jesus presence with us,  and sometime, we never recognize it?  First they didn't know he wasn't there, and they went back to find him.  Now, he is standing right in front of the person, and she doesn't even recognize him.  How many times have we went to church, have we been in this chapel, and we didnt even recognize He was here?

So many times we see the article is so long, it is a bother to read the article.  Many times it may not be our cup of tea, or our interest.  I hope to God that this year we have more visitors, more response, more input, more people, more songs, more prayer in our MEOW Chapel, than ever before.

I have told you how busy I am, and i haven't written here for a while.  This is for Bruzer, all not you....I do service calls, and I play golf, and Xbox, and bowl on league, and kids church, and so much more, football, basketball, ESPN etc.  Jesus is tapping me on the shoulder saying, i am right here, hey, i am here, but i get so busy in my own stuff, I DON"T EVEN RECOGNIZE HIM sometimes......I'm sorry.

I want so much to help people know Jesus.  I want your families to know He is there.  I want your friends to visit the MEOW Chapel.  This is the most beautiful spot on our forum.  It's not the games, or the updates.  Its not the TS. or the even the Headquarters and we need all of that believe me.  But it is here.  Let's let people know Jesus is here too.  50% won't make it.  I don't want them to find the gardner, i want them to see Jesus.  Pray for the Chapel and the squad, and our friends and families.  Lord Bless.

[NighEve*{MEOW}*]

Amen.  My heart hurts for those that deny Him, put off finding Him and actualy fight against His Kingdom.  You are such a wonderful man.   I love the Truths you state and the humble manner you state them. I can see you a bit like Peter.  You make me think.

Speaking as a mother and with Jewish realitives, I can understand why they would leave the Holy City without Jesus.  First, Mary is confident in God.  No matter where Jesus was I am sure she trusted God to look after His own son.  She knew the scriptures and knew the scripture quoted by Saten on top of the Temple:

5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
   " 'He will command his angels concerning you,
      and they will lift you up in their hands,
   so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"

In addition, in a Jewish family the children are trained from birth to stay with the "clan" or family.  If tradition holds true, the family of Joseph traveled with known realitives and friends.  She was confident that Jesus would keep up.  However Jesus did not do this. The higher calling of "being about My Fathers Business" overshadowed this.  Also, he was perfectly safe in the Temple complex.

Hebrew families take care of all the children.  It's a communal thing.  It's probable they travled in seperation from the adults under the care of aunts and uncles or older children.  I can hear Mary nagging Joseph to check on Jesus and Joseph saying he is probalby alright.  Her worst fears come true when they find Him not among the other children.

Still your point is valid, I just wanted to take up for Mary I guess..  They were traveling without Him and didnt know it.  They failed to MAKE SURE HE WAS WITH THEM, as we do in this life.    Also in the garden in a time of trouble and sorrow, Jesus was there in front of you all along.  What joy we miss by not recognizing that.  Jesus is not ever 'far waway' at all.  We jsut think He is.  We distance ourselves for His love. 

I wrote this at a particular time for my husband when He thought he stood alone.


Standing Close

The time came to hand across the land
He stood in the line to fight,
A smaller man but with determined stand,
He knew the cause was right.

He looked to front, squint eyes to hunt,
His Leader he longed to see,
To gather strength to go the length,
Was this where He wanted me?

He searched the line, just one more time,
How could we go to battle?
He faced the ground, there was mighty sound-
Satan’s swords began to rattle.

“Oh, Lord” his cry, “I will to die”,
“If that’s what you want of me”
“I’ll follow your light into the fight”
“If one glimpse of you I see.”

A brush of arm, a feel of warm,
He turned to see the One
He was to find that all the time,
He stood by God’s own Son.

The terrible cross is not far off,
It’s in everything we do!
But you know His love, not just above-
But right there next to you!!

[Gunnykat{MEOW}]

You know It is never to late to post on this subject. Jesus has a way to draw you to places. And I believe he drew me here today. Its amazing how easy he is to forget. What amazes me more is he never forgets us. And his forgiveness is always there for us. I feel peace here. And Its a wonderful thing. I always thought his home was the church. But now I know his home is everywhere we speak his name. And Honor what he has taught us through is words and what he has done to save us. Thank you lord. For you willingness to give your sons life up for us. And thank you for not giving up on your flock. You are my Shepard no other I shale not want. I walk in green pastures. BB where do I find this passage. I would love to read it. Thanks BB for this post. and thanks for being in this Squad and being our Chaplin.

[THEKATZ*{MEOW}*]

Gunny, Matthew 6:9   Also in Luke 11:2 but don't start there.  Read The Book of John first.  This is a great book to take you in to the times of our Lord Jesus.  In the beginning of The Book of John, the Apostle John tells us about a witness also named John or John the Baptist.  This is an incredible read, trust me.

BigBruzzer, thank you.  I need your prayers as everyone of us does.  What a nice sermon.  You take it past that, you actually take it right to the point.  I think where I am the saddest is realizing that there are those that believe we just exist or all of this just happened and there is no creation. Somehow two rocks collided and an amoeba just came out of this air and that is how life began - If they only knew! 
Thanks again BB, as eve stated - you are a wonderful man and this squad is grateful to have you in it's midst.

[Gunnykat{MEOW}]

Thanks TK.

[BigBruzer*{MEOW}*]

Gunnyk, this may be what you are thinking, I am not sure.
Pss.23
[1] The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
[2] He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
[3] He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
[4] Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
[5] Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
[6] Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

[Gunnykat{MEOW}]

Yes that is the Passage.