By Gobel Brockman

“One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” - Luke 7:36-39

   A Savior with a present once met a woman with a past.

   It was obvious this woman had a past, because the Scripture text specifically refers to her as “a sinner.”  But this “sinner” heard about Jesus, and was immediately aware both of her failures and His faithfulness. Her response was the perfect response: she came to worship at His feet. She would soon learn that His presence offered grace and forgiveness for her past.

   I can relate to this lady. There was a time in my life when the only thing I cared about was where my next beer, joint, or tab of LSD was coming from. I didn’t need anybody to tell me how bad my life was, because I had a front row seat for every moment of it. But when I finally came to Jesus, I instantly found both forgiveness and absolute freedom. But I had to come to Him the same way that lady did: humbled, repentant, and falling at His feet. The incredible thing is that Jesus will always accept humble, repentant worship that comes from the heart - regardless of the past.

   I’ve said all of that to simply say this: your “past” does not prohibit you from an absolutely amazing “present!” And when you begin to understand the vastness of the mercy and grace extended to you, there’s truly no other response but to worship Him. 

   No matter where you have been in life, the door is open to you to become a true worshiper of God in Spirit and in truth. Yes, that lady had critics - and so will we. But Jesus rose in her defense, and He will rise in our defense as well. We have a saying at our church: “What do you do when you don’t know what to do? Worship Him!” My message to both the critics and the criticized today is simply this: may we ALL come together to the feet of Jesus and worship Him. There’s room for all of us, it’s exactly where we all need to be, and there is no better place to be.

   Especially these days.

Don't Ignore Your Season

By Gobel Brockman

   Recently at our midweek service at church, there was a reference to Ecclesiastes 3 which says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” My mind immediately went to verse 4 which says, “A time to weep, and a time to laugh” and this thought came to me:

DON'T IGNORE YOUR SEASON.

   What do I mean by that? I’ll explain it this way. There are times when life gets difficult. Family issues, financial strain, difficult job situations, and a host of other issues can cause us pain. One of the problems we encounter in these times as Christians is the thought that we should suppress our feelings of concern because that might be seen as “a lack of faith.” We feel the pressure, either from ourselves or outside influences, to smile through our pain because “God is with us.” Yes, God is INDEED with us – always. We have this promise in Hebrews 13:5-6: “He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’”

   On the other hand, that Scripture in Ecclesiastes also says that there is “a time to laugh.” Another problem that we sometimes face as Christians is the feeling of unworthiness when blessings come our way. God blesses us abundantly, but yet we convince ourselves that we don’t deserve those blessings. “I’m not good enough” thoughts fill our minds as we hit the rewind button to replay all of our sins, mistakes, and shortcomings. We recall the words in Nehemiah 8:10 that “The joy of the Lord is our strength” but yet we somehow convince ourselves that doesn’t apply to us, and we feel that we don’t deserve to laugh and express the very joy that God graciously pours out upon us.

   As I thought about this Scripture last night, I thought of how often we try to ignore our seasons. In our seasons of weeping, we put on a fake smile and attempt to convince ourselves and everyone around us that “all is well.” In our seasons of laughter, we allow feelings of unworthiness or thoughts of “this won’t last” to rob us of the joy that God wants to pour out upon us. With that in mind, this is my encouragement to you as a child of God today:

   If you are in a season of weeping right now, WEEP. God does not see your tears as a lack of faith. On the contrary, you can know that those tears have been seen by your Father, and you can claim the promise of Psalms 34:18: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Likewise, if you are in a season of laughter, LAUGH! Turn off the tape recorder of past failures and forget the feelings of “I don’t deserve this!” and allow the joy of the Lord to indeed be your strength. Recognize that Psalms 126:2 can be your reality: “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them.”

   Finally, always remember that seasons change. For however many more days God gives each of us on this earth, there are going to be “seasons” of weeping and “seasons” of laughter. Things change, and that will never stop. Life will always include both grievous challenges and unspeakable blessings. The one constant in all of it is that as a believer in Jesus Christ, you won’t go through ANY of it alone. Whether your current tears are tears of sorrow or tears of laughter, the words of Jesus are your promise today:

   “Behold, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

Get Fitted For Your Garment of Praise

By Gobel Brockman


Part of my Bible reading this morning included Psalms 147. Verse one says this:

“Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is FITTING.” Psalms 147:1 (Emphasis mine)

This reminded me of the Scripture in Isaiah 61:3 that says God will give us “a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” No one needs me to tell them that we are in “heavy” times right now. What I will tell you is that God can give peace in situations where in the natural, peace shouldn’t be found. There is power when we learn to praise God in the midst of our pain. Jentezen Franklin puts it this way:

“It works like this. When you begin to praise Him with a heavy heart, you experience a new sense of hope and joy. Through worship you are reminded that God is bigger than the situation you face; that He’s not only capable of managing your concerns but willing, wanting, and waiting to.”

With that in mind, let me encourage you with this thought. Today, let’s take a few moments and turn off CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. Sign out of Facebook for a bit - it will still be there when we get back. Crank up some worship and praise music, and spend some time with Jesus. Take a few moments not asking for anything, just give Him praise for the simple reason that He deserves it. Jesus truly is Lord of all, and no earthly situation will change that. So lift your voice in song and prayer, and put on the garment of praise.

You will find that it “fits” you well.

Dealing with Day Nine

By Gobel Brockman

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. There appeared to them tongues as of fire, being distributed and resting on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.” - Acts 2:1-4

   This past Sunday (as I write this) was Pentecost Sunday. We celebrated the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit and the birth of the New Testament church. There are many things I could address on this subject, but for today I want to focus on one thought. On the day of His ascension, Jesus told His disciples to return to Jerusalem and “wait for the promise of the Father.” (Acts 1:4) They obeyed and went to the upper room to pray and wait.

One day passed.
Two days passed.
Six days passed.
Nine days passed.

   I try to imagine how those men and women felt in that time of waiting. The were exactly where Jesus told them to go, and they were doing exactly what Jesus told them to do - WAIT. I can’t help but wonder if there was any uncertainty in their minds as the days passed. (I can picture one of them asking Thomas, “Do you think it will happen today?” with Thomas replying, “I doubt it!”) They were praying and waiting. And waiting....and waiting....

Then Day Ten arrived.

SUDDENLY.

   All the praying and waiting paid off. The promise arrived, and the world hasn’t been the same since! But here’s an interesting point: the Greek word for suddenly in that passage is aphno, which means “unaware, unexpected.” They were praying for the promise, and when it arrived it STILL caught them “unexpectedly unaware!” My question for today is this: the answer came on Day 10, but what would have happened if they had grown tired of waiting on Day 9?

   I ask simply because I know how I can be sometimes, and I know I’m not the only one. Waiting can be challenging. Microwaves and digital clocks have us programmed for instant results, but God operates on a schedule that totally ignores man’s impatience. Today I simply want to remind us all that when God promises God delivers, but He alone decides the delivery day. We no longer have to “tarry” for the promised Holy Ghost, we can simply ask and receive. But there are times in our lives when we are seeking an answer and God will tell us to “pray and wait.” So if you’re waiting on an answer from God, follow the “Day of Pentecost” example of the disciples: do what Jesus tells you to do, keep praying, waiting, and believing, and stay put. The Holy Ghost changed their lives, and He will do the same for you.

   Don’t grow weary on Day 9. Day 10 is worth the wait.