The Jesus Message

The Two Fortunes of the Promised Land

19/10/16 at 10.30am   /   by Dannie Hood   /   0 Comment

October 20, 2019

Seekers of fertile lands. Hope seekers of a peaceful home. 12 spies canvass the ordained territory. They are renowned. They are chosen. They are discernibly determined to bring back a thorough report. They will see the land promised to them.

Fallen limbs crunch beneath their methodical steps. They are camouflaged by green brush and wilderness growth. They are not sent to attack, but to attain. They will bring back a report. The wind howls among the distant rock formations of Abraham’s property, mountain ranges majestically inviting these explorers. They will hike twisting trails, sip from refreshing waterfalls, taste of grapes wildly grown in the delicious vale of Eschol. And it will be too irresistible not to take some samples back to their anxious brethren. Grape stains dot their sweaty clothes. They sport milk-staches. They laugh and ooh and aah at their surroundings.

But what looms on the horizon? What grows from the soil of impossibility, stretching toward the heavens with intimidating size? Gates. Iron fences. They gasp at the sight of them. These are barricades of hell before them. And if the gates have to be that large, who guards them, and what of their stature? How could they ever take these mountain folk; and then they get a view of the citizens. Armored guards stand like giants statues at the entrance of the gates; they are monstrous. These men had never seen such human beings? Could they be human? Legends abounded throughout the land of giants, but now the legends were visible, instantly haunting realities. Men with shoulders broader than any three Hebrew warriors, carrying swords apparently confiscated from angels; large and sharp, able to behead several opposing soldiers at once. When they step in the soft earth they leave pit like footprints. When they lean their weight against a tree it appears the aching trunk may snap like a twig. Maybe then one of the spies observed a nearby frog darting his tongue out to snatch up a helpless grasshopper, and a thought thunders in his imagination. Listen now…

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The Scourge and the Sword

19/10/09 at 10.30am   /   by Dannie Hood   /   0 Comment

October 13, 2019

The blood is dripping. Redemptive raindrops. A crimson storm. Dusty soils splotchy and darker, patches of grace here and there. Ribbons of flesh hang. Wheezing moans resound on bitter winds. Those who hear will be haunted on a thousand nights by the ghastly figure of this beaten man. It is ugly. Who can bear it? It is nauseating. Who can leave the scene and have an appetite? Yet, in contrast, it is morbidly beautiful, contradictorily amazing. For in the shredded muscle and flesh one finds a miracle; in the torn and ripped, gashed and gaping, one finds something greater than medicine; a Divine prescription for the diseased and gruesomely sick. “By his stripes ye were healed.” I Peter 2:24

Slap. The scourge has found its aim. Slap. Guttural moans escape the Healer’s lips. Slap. Gasps and sickened oohs and aahs fill the air. Slap. The ragged cords like razor sharp teeth of leviathan dig in, catch and tear. Slap. Blood spatters the ground, the guards, and the splintery column to which he is bound. Slap. And the flesh tearing bite takes another hunk of his mortal body, while something otherworldly is being sewn into the fabric of eternity. If this man had been a criminal even then it might seem too gratuitous, this macabre form of punishment, torturous and borderline sadistic. Maybe a mass murderer deserved this, but not a Messiah. Maybe a pirate captured from high seas of plundering and thievery might deserve this, but not a Giver of love. But he wasn’t going through this because he deserved it; he was going through this because he desired it. Listen now…

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Not for Applause but for a Cause

19/10/02 at 10.30am   /   by Dannie Hood   /   0 Comment

October 6, 2019

Jesus walked onto the world stage. There was a curtain drawn before the foundation of the world. Those curtains unfurled across grueling ages of laws and prophets, of judges and kings, of good and evil. And when the Son of God was finally born, his lines too had been well scripted. For Jesus stated on several occasions, “What I do I do not of myself, but they are from my Father in Heaven.”

When he healed a sore riddled leper and solved the puzzled expression of the blind by giving them sight, he did it not for applause, but for a cause…listen now.

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One Blood One Battle One Bride

19/09/25 at 10.30am   /   by Dannie Hood   /   0 Comment

September 29, 2019

By this one leper cleansing Physician of heaven; by this one virtue sharing hemorrhage healing savior; by this one lover of lepers, friend of the flawed, hope of the hurting, light to the listless and staggering generations of despair; this one man brought fertile soil to the grieving lands of withered dreams, and the seed of His word grew miracles where death, doubt, and Roman dominion oppressed. He was a lone root out of the dry ground. Isaiah 53:2 He was the single lamb staining the foundations of the world with his blood. He was the lone survivor in temptation’s obstacle course of lust, pride, and selfish ambition. By himself he purged our sins and sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high.[1] He put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.[2] He was the only High Priest in all time and eternity that could be touched with the feeling of our infirmities and walk that road of compassion without compromise. Hebrews 4:16

He gave the world one cross to crossover the chasm of hell; a bridge of Divine origin roughly hewn by worth millions of diamonds; and we march on that rugged wood-bridge of sacrifice and hope over the fiery canyons of everlasting hell. One man did that; one mediator between God and man. I Timothy 2:5

Adam of the Garden of Eden brought death with one bite.

Adam of the Garden of Gethsemane brought deliverance with one cross.

Adam of Eden brought iniquity and sin to every generation to be born.

Adam of Gethsemane brought inspiration to live beyond the grave to every generation born again…

Can one man really make that kind of difference? Can the rock slung out of David’s posterity bring down the Goliathan rulership of rebellion and darkness? Can the Samson like power of His Words spoken from the jawbone of God manifested in flesh bring down more than a thousand Philistine powers of evil? With one cross he paved a blood stained trail from sin bound earth to grace endowed Heaven; and with one crown he will rule all the nations with a rod of iron…listen now.

[1] Hebrews 1:3

[2] Hebrews 9:26

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The Bartimaeus Way

19/09/18 at 10.30am   /   by Dannie Hood   /   0 Comment

September 22, 2019

And many charged him that he should hold his peace; but he cried out the more. Above the crowded conversation, the muffled tones of a dozen different deep discussions. Above the soft winds fervently blowing over rugged hills and busy streets. Above the crunching sandals pressing along as many stumbled along trying to keep up with the Messiah. Above the distant voices of vendors in the market place trying to persuade potential buyers to stop by; above the silent Pharisees with loud stares of protest; above the timid tongues of some too ashamed to ask for help. He cried. And when told to be quiet. He turned up the volume. He intensified his desire for a breakthrough miracle.

Cry here is the Greek word Kradzo. It means to shriek like a crow. How ironic in a world where the Pharisees were always crowing about their good deeds and incomparable performance of the law of Moses, this blind man crowed above them all with desperation for a miracle. They cried out for attention; he cried out for a transformation. They were ignored; he was empowered. Listen now…

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Old Bones New Blood

19/09/11 at 10.30am   /   by Dannie Hood   /   0 Comment

September 15, 2019

Ever feel disconnected? Do you think you are so distant from your dream it is impossible to ever see it come to pass? Do you have old hopes laying in a graveyard of grief? Ezekiel’s story of being carried away in the Spirit to a valley of dry bones is both inspirational and instructional. You can be amazed by the supernatural reconnecting and motivated by a personal application of a similar renewing. God is a God of the living. If something is dead in your heart, let Him breathe upon it. If the proverbial skeletons in your closet still haunt the soul, let Him breathe upon those skeletons, and let Him heal something that was hurtful and dreadful; gain another chance to do it better this time. God is a God of the living and of second chances. Can these bones live? Yes. The Author and Finisher of faith can revise the negative end to a story in your life and rebirth it with a better ending. Give grace a chance. Let God restore. And let the army of faith rise to victory in your heart.

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Seven Ways God Uses Revelation P3

19/09/04 at 10.48am   /   by Dannie Hood   /   0 Comment

September 8, 2019

John 4:34-35~Jesus saith unto them, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”

This is about getting on God’s schedule, realizing that God works in every season as if it’s the Spring season. Growth with God comes in unexpected moments. We need not miss the moments of breakthrough because we are delaying for a more convenient time, or because we are desiring our own interpretation of better timing; or because we are discouraged by what happened in a former time, thus making us hesitant to trust God’s clock. His seconds have the supernatural in them; let us not trade them for our own mindsets of fear or doubt. His minutes have miracles in them; let us not push the pause button because we are not as spiritually prepared as we may feel we need to be prepared. God’s hours has anointing in them, for joy, for salvation, and for unexpected avenues of spiritual access; let us not drag our feet, wasting days and weeks staring at the same door or gate or path, failing to move forward. Listen now…

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Seven Ways God Uses Revelation P2

19/08/28 at 10.30am   /   by Dannie Hood   /   0 Comment

September 1, 2019

The bold prophet Elisha had been giving Israel divinely revealed signals as to the location of Syrian ambushes. Once the Syrians figured out the source of the aggravating espionage, the king angrily sent his military to apprehend and execute the prophet. When the unsuspecting servant stumbled upon this frightful discovery his heart sank like a ship in a typhoon; his face showed the terrifying alarm, and he nervously raced back to inform the prophet. At this point, the servant could only see the adversaries; he was oblivious to the angels.

Sometimes you won’t see what needs to be seen until the man of God prays for you. The effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man avails much. Perception is often in the prayer, the right kind of prayer. Prayer that brings God’s authority. Prayer that binds the enemy’s agenda. Prayer that breaks open vision otherwise left blinded to those in human chains of reason. The servant was bound by earthly limitations of fear. He saw what he could see with human eyes, and that was plain and simple. From what he saw, he was understandably afraid. In contrast, the servant saw with eyes of fear; the prophet saw with eyes of faith. Fear focuses on the adversary. Faith finds the angelic. Fear sees who might do harm to you; faith observes the supernatural deliverance of God. What is beyond the veil of our fears? What angels stand in the shadows of our human imperception ready to war? What does God want to accomplish for us rather than despite us? How often are we getting in our own way trying to do the things that only God can do? We often try to fight with human strength only to end up showing our most vulnerable weaknesses. We often try to handle the visible circumstances in front us unaware of Divine visitations surrounding us, to aid us, to strengthen us, to deliver us.

The young fearful servant needed the prophet to…listen now. 

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Seven Ways God Uses Revelation

19/08/21 at 10.30am   /   by Dannie Hood   /   0 Comment

August 25, 2019

We travel through deserts of impossible circumstances. We feel the heat of hatred against us. We feel the intense fever of loneliness as the sun bares down on the endless miles. Misery drinks away what desire we have left. Despair laughs at the empty canteens of our already meager determination. We stagger under the weight of regret and it gets heavier as we sweat away any virtue left in this arid climate. Desert miles and lonely moments. Desert sun and little assurance. Desert journeys and absent joy. Why go on? We toss aside our dreams like Hagar’s little lad; we won’t survive and neither will the dream. We won’t make it out of this canyon of sorrow so why even look at what used to motivate us? It’s a dying child in a Sahara land of missed opportunities and rejected faith. You’ve been told to go away. You’ve been shoved out by uncontrollable relationship conflicts. But God shows up. He speaks through His Word. He gives a message of hope in the wastelands of your human weariness. An oasis appears. A well forms before your eyes. In the story, Hagar couldn’t see the well at first. She was blinded by grief. Veiled by rejection. Obscured by loss of self-worth. Why go on if nobody loves you? Why care for a baby that no one really wants now? But God breathes hope into your dehydrated soul. He shows you something that was...listen now.

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The King of Ai

19/08/14 at 10.30am   /   by Dannie Hood   /   0 Comment

August 18, 2019

Drumming sounds of horses riding hard went along with the orchestra of the wind howling in different pitches through the rocks and valleys. Dust clouds swirled. Soldiers yelled impassioned by the blood of war, their contorted faces revealing the hatred of demons. Ai came strong. Not a man was left in Bethel or Ai. Yet, this arrogant king was oblivious to the pincer move Joshua had set up. You see, my friend, your enemy has a plan. But God’s plan is always better. Even when it looks at first like defeat is at hand.

Joshua played his role to perfection. The raging enemies of Ai came with relentless intent to kill. Joshua and his men turned and retreated. Farther and farther they ran away, posing as coward too afraid to fight. Onward and onward the presumptuous predators hunted their prey, the king of Ail wanting to behead Joshua and celebrate for weeks this great campaign. But then something changed. What was the general of Israel doing? Why had he suddenly stopped? And why was he pointing a sword toward what appeared to be behind him?

The ambush had worked. The remaining soldiers tucked away to the west of town darted out of their hiding places when they saw their leader give the sword raising sign to go. Oh, how appropriate that the raising of the sword would unleash the secret attack.

The bible says that the Word of God is sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

When God raises His sword, his word, he can release a host of heaven to come to your aid. Angels are sent to minister for heirs of salvation. So, don’t be afraid of what’s after you. For soon the pursuer will be the pursued. The one who thinks to bind you in bitterness will be defeated by your humility and God’s breaking of the chains. Listen now…

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