Michael
Plemmons

Contributing Writer

Michael Plemmons has been in active ministry for more than 30 years. He resides in Virginia Beach.

More from Michael Plemmons

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Hidden Glory

CBN.com -- We live in a world where each and every one of us faces the challenge of constant change. Recent events in our world are filling the hearts of millions with fear. The world’s economy seems to be hanging by a thread, as world leaders grapple with the complex issues of our day. Is it possible to face the future with confidence in a society that every day seems to challenge us one and all with so much uncertainty?

I speak today of the hidden glory. Two thousand years ago on the night before his death, Jesus Christ told his sorrow filled disciples that he was leaving them. His time had come to die as the eternal sacrifice for all mankind. Yet in the midst of the fear that clutched the hearts of every one of them he made a profound promise. He said I will not leave you comfortless but I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit that he may abide with you forever.

The hidden glory of which I speak is a life changing presence or person who inhabits the hearts of every believer in Jesus Christ. When we confess him as Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit of promise changes our hearts and cleanses us from sin. Our hearts and lives are changed because we come by faith into contact with the living God. From the moment we accept Jesus as our lord and savior the Holy Spirit sets up residence within us. It is that hidden glory of the person of the Holy Spirit that gives every believer hope today.

We carry within our hearts the power and glory of God. This is the manifestation of God living within the hearts of all who have been birthed into Jesus Christ by our faith in him. My heart is flooded with images from my past where the Spirit of God has spoken to me and given me the guidance or direction I needed. His is the most gentile of hearts. How many times have I been reading the word of God and had him speak to my heart just what I needed to hear. How many times has my heart been stirred as he has spoken a word to me from the lips of some minister or teacher.

So many times in my life the Holy Spirit has imparted to me a life changing, life altering revelation. As believers in Christ our lives are not a series of events of random happenstance. No, the Holy Spirit is leading and guiding our steps not just from day-to-day but moment-to-moment. In our times of joy and our darkest hours He has always been by our side. When in desperation a believer cries out to God, it is His voice that speaks to the heart, dries our tears and calms our fears. He, by His wisdom gives us the direction to see beyond the given situation with love and understanding.

I do not mean to minimize the dangers facing our world today, but I do know that whatever dark days lie ahead He will be there sustaining us with what we face. For the Holy Spirit is a divine link to the heart of Father God. His is a mission of compassion to all hurting souls where ever they may be found. The church of Jesus Christ is the greatest force of life and change in the world today. We offer the world hope because the Holy Spirit has given us His heart, compassion, and love. When faced with the onslaughts of hell, He fills our hearts with the faith and inspiration of Jesus Christ to minister to the needs of the hurting all around us.

We do not face the future alone, for as followers of Jesus Christ the hidden glory of His life and nature resides in every one of us. Do not get caught up in the fear and dark days ahead. It would seem the events foreseen by John, Daniel, and others can be seen just over the horizon. Yet Jesus has promised that no matter what may come we can take hope that He would abide with us forever. We can have confidence in this promise because of the Holy Spirit, that inner glorious one who fills our hearts and destiny with the assurance that God’s words are true.

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.
(

NLT)

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Michael is a Partner Service Representative at CBN, and has been in active ministry for more than 30 years. He resides in Virginia Beach.

 

The Cry of the Desperate

Ours is a complicated world. We live each of us side by side beside the wounded of heart. All around us are the desperately lonely. There are hearts and souls whose life is filled with a sense of isolation, despair, and pain. Who can understand the pain of the terminally ill? Day after day they grow weaker and weaker; their bodies wracked with pain. Each day is just a battle to survive; for millions life is as basic as just finding the strength to take the next breath.

The cries of desperate hearts can be heard all around us. The grief-stricken widower, the abused child, the prisoner in jail; the list goes on and on. All around us and from every walk of life millions of souls face each new day with voices of desperation. They each have a story. No one but them can truly understand the daily turmoil they encounter with every sunrise.

Pain in all its forms is the common universal human denominator we all share. Tens of thousands of families have lost their homes in the current economic downturn. For these families life has become a struggle just for survival. Daily they face the task of finding food, shelter, and hope for their families.

Indeed, throughout history we hear the voices of the desperate crying out for deliverance. In this timeless menagerie of pain and suffering, seen in every age and time, can someone be found who has heard and hears the cries of the desperate?

A little over two thousand years ago a Jewish rabbi faced his hour of pain and suffering. Jesus and his band of disciples had shared a last meal together and had made their way out of the city into the surrounding Judean hillsides. The disciples knew this night was different from other nights. As they walked along they must have reflected on the words their master spoke to them as he shared a last Passover meal with them. Their hearts were consumed with grief because Jesus had informed them that night that he would soon leave them.

Passover was a time of grand celebration when all Israel rejoiced in the memory of deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Yet Jesus broke with tradition that night when he spoke of a new covenant he was going to establish in the earth. One can but look with wonder at the life of this gentle Galilean and his journey that had brought him to this time and place. His very birth had been announced by a chorus of angels -- a savior had been born.

For the past three years of his life his mission was one of compassion to all the desperate voices longing for answers. They came to him from everywhere. He healed their sick and spoke words of wisdom and comfort such as never had been heard before. How many times he must have given of himself one by one to all the wounded hearts that made their way to him. No matter how weary in body, he always had time for the wounded heart.

Yet he knew that this effort was not enough. The universal problem of man was that we were broken on the inside. As he and his disciples made their way to the garden of Gethsemane, he spoke of his impending arrest that night and the death that would follow the next day. Their hearts were filled with sorrow; yet by his death and resurrection a new day would be inaugurated in the world of mankind.

Wounded desperate heart, Jesus did not just die a sacrificial death for you to cleanse your heart from sin. No, he opened the heart, love, and compassion of the Divine to the world. He rose from the dead; and no matter what you may be dealing with in your life, he is still speaking words of hope, love, and compassion. He will respond to the cry of the desperate heart wherever it may be found.

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." ( ">

OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
NLT)

The Divine Spark

CBN.com There has never been a day or a time such as this one. Every day seems to bring a new fresh revelation of turmoil and distress. Words cannot express the challenges that each morning’s headlines bring. Confusion, fear, and uncertainty about where things may be headed cloud the minds and hearts of individuals all over the globe.

I would speak today to the wounded heart: there is one who cares and has an answer for you, no matter what you may be dealing with. The truth of the matter is although there may indeed be millions hurting in the world, each individual’s pain is unique. My heart is torn and my spirit is grieved by all the pain and suffering that we all see on display every day.

Millions today are faced with crippling financial suffering. These are the ones who played by the rules. They raised their families, paid their taxes, and through the loss of a job, unexpected medical expenses, or maybe the loss of a loved one, find themselves facing financial pressures for which their seems to be no answer at all. Each and every day is filled with the fear of uncertainty not knowing what to do and seeing no way out.

In a world seemingly spinning more and more out of control there has never been a greater need to find some inner meaning to it all. I would address that earnest soul searching for direction amidst the clutter of everyday life. No generation has ever faced the pressures that are the norm of every day life in the modern world. From every direction discordant voices assail us every day, all claming to have the answer to life’s purpose and meaning.

I speak today of the divine spark. Jesus Christ told his disciples on the night before his death that God had a purpose and a plan. He was God in the flesh and he had demonstrated to the world of that day the heart and passion of his Father. His hands healed the sick and brought deliverance to the tortured souls and minds of the desperate. His message was one of compassion and understanding.

The world of that day had a very different concept of God. The false gods of that day presented quite a different picture than that demonstrated by the meek gentle love and compassion of this Nazarene from Galilee. Yet Jesus had a purpose and plan. He was on a divine mission. To fulfill this mission would cost him the ultimate price. For his purpose was to once and for all bring a purpose and meaning to mankind’s existence.

On the cross he bore the shame, sin, and judgment for all of collective humanity for all time. Yet his purpose was far more than this. He knew by sacrificing himself he would open the way for the human heart to receive that divine spark of life that could only come from God himself. Whatever any of us face in our lives Jesus died that we might by our faith in him receive within our hearts that divine spark of God’s life and nature.

It was and is the plan of God to transform the human heart from the inside out. Jesus said that a mustard seed was the smallest of all seeds but grows into the mightiest of all trees. When we give our lives to him, he not only forgives our sins, but also places that divine spark of his life and nature within us. He longs to fill us with the love and understanding of God himself.

So, poor hurting desperate soul, hear his voice speaking to your heart today. Hear his voice above the clamor and confusion all around you. He will still the voices of desperation and pain inside your heart. He will dispel your fears and bring peace, love, and compassion to your soul. He will turn your pain into joy, replace your suffering with tranquility, and give your life that divine spark of meaning and purpose.

“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. (

NLT)

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Michael is a Partner Service Representative at CBN, and has been in active ministry for more than 30 years. He resides in Virginia Beach.

 

A Ray of Hope

Millions of People all over the world are searching for a ray of hope. When we look at the events of just this year, we find much to be concerned about. Our world is facing one major crisis after another. Millions are facing starvation due to the high costs of food. From one end of the globe to the other the specter of war hangs over mankind. We have also seen the world struck with one natural disaster after another.

Yet, in spite of these threats and others, I can say with confidence that in a world seemingly headed for disaster, we can take hope and consolation. Hope is not to be found in something, but rather in someone. In one individual we can find an answer to the fear clutching the hearts of so many today. I recently heard a desperate person say that in the midst of her suffering and pain, the only thread of hope she could find was to repeat over and over the name, "Jesus."

I would add to her voice my own, and say to each and every sufferer, wherever you may be, that hope can be found in someone and his name is Jesus. Millions of believers all over the world have found in Jesus a voice of consolation in our hour of distress. In my heart, I can race back through the events of my life. My memory is replete with times and events where I have suffered, yet I and no one else has ever suffered as He did. He, by his great love and devotion, gave his life to purchase for us eternal life. I and every believer have our own stories to tell. We each, however, are connected by a divine thread to Calvary; to the gentle Nazarene who gave himself for us.

For to know Jesus is be transformed from the inside into sons and daughters of God. This transformation has been accomplished by the divine heart and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. From the moment I met him this internal transformation had begun. We, one and all, had been unlovable, but like a gentle summer rain, the blood of Jesus washed away the guilt and sin that was ours. Yet he has done far more than this.

In my heart and the hearts of millions down through the ages, He has healed those inner wounds and sorrows and stilled the voices of grief and rage that course through the souls of all humanity. He has always been there in the moments of my greatest sorrow, deepest remorse, and darkest inner conflict. It has been His voice, His hand, that has stilled the storms that raged in my heart. I cannot count the number of times in my life when all seemed lost.

I, like the disciples, found myself cast upon the roaring waves of my life’s greatest turmoil. It was at these times that He came walking to me on the waves of my inner consternation and by His love and mere presence calmed the storm and set this oppressed heart free.

He gave me love and compassion when my heart needed it the most and deserved it the least. In the day-to-day living out of my life by His love, example, and kind guiding hand, He transformed me. So if I can now love, if the tears of compassion can run down my cheeks at the suffering of another, if my hand and heart can in any way reach out to some poor lost hurting soul, it is only because little by little He has done his work in me and changed my heart.

So, poor hurting soul, I offer to you the handiwork of my Lord Jesus Christ. His message is alive and well in the hearts of countless numbers of His followers around the globe. His voice is demonstrated with every helping hand reached out to the desperate all around us. His message is seen in every soup kitchen, homeless shelter, and act of Christian charity. His life can be seen in the kind eyes and generous hearts of His devoted followers. We followers of Christ can offer hope because of one man, one God, one Lord - our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” (

OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
NIV)

Copyright © Michael Plemmons, used with permission.

hiker at a fork in the road

The Choice

In life, each of us is confronted daily with choices and decisions we must make. Our lives are the sum of all our choices. Yet there is a dividing line that can be readily seen. Today, we each can choose to walk in life or death. The kind of people we are is determined by the ultimate choice we make.

Thousands of years ago mankind was injected with the poison of spiritual death at the fall of Adam. Sin transformed the human race, which had been designed to walk in the nobility of our creator, into beings of darkness. All of this changed with the birth of Jesus Christ. His is the noblest of hearts. He spread the message of love, compassion, and healing not by mere words, but rather by reaching out to the hurting all around him with hands laden with tenderness and love.

He, by his death and resurrection, paid not only the eternal price for sin, that divine justice demanded must be paid; but also opened the door to a holy connection to the life and nature of God. Jesus once said, “ For whatever is in your heart determines what you say" (Matthew 12:34 NLT). We are defined in this life by the choices we make.

Those who choose to reject the life that Jesus died to freely give us, choose to walk in darkness rather than light. Their hearts and deeds are consumed by an inner drive of selfishness. Sin injects the human heart with the desire or lust that is the predominate characteristic of evil. We see a pattern in all who choose spiritual death over life. Life is to the spiritually dead a treadmill driven by the desire to advance our own agenda.

This takes many forms. Some crave power and influence while others are driven by the pursuit of pleasures in all its forms. Whatever the path taken, the root and core of the path to hell is rooted in the selfish ambition to live our own lives as we please. Life serves no purpose other than to daily live one’s life for one's self.

There are others who choose a different course. These are those who long to be free from the damning influences of hell and make the choice of life over death. Jesus offers to every human soul the choice of life or death. We can accept him as Lord and Savior or follow our own path. Those who choose to lay down their lives and follow Jesus are transformed from the inside out. It is a fact I have observed over and over again — the closer we walk with Jesus, the more “other” minded we become.

True followers of Jesus Christ are moved by a very different agenda than the ungodly. They are not immune to the suffering and pain they see all around them, but they are driven by a higher ideal than just the selfish ambitions of power or pleasure. Those who make the choice for life, by laying down their life in service to Jesus Christ, are transformed by a divine connection with him.

The more time we spend in Jesus' presence, the more selfless we become. I would submit to you that a truly selfless person is the greatest threat to evil. All sin, no matter what form it takes, is a deed of selfish desire in one form or another. We must all make the choice for life or death. All of us are either on the road to heaven or hell, and it is not really so hard to discern which path we are on. The life we live from day to day gives mute testimony to who and what we are.

Jesus said, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” (John 10:10 NLT)

Copyright © 2009 Michael Plemmons. Used by permission.
the heavens

Day of Glory

We are living today in extraordinary times. Our world is being shaken to its very core by events that seem to be beyond the capacity of anyone to shape or comprehend. We live in a world where the reader of a daily newspaper is given more knowledge in a week than a man living in the 18th century would have garnered in a lifetime. The world is becoming a smaller and smaller place with the advent of the modern computer. Nations and peoples are interlinked in ways our forebears would never have believed.

This truth is presenting the church of Jesus Christ with the most extraordinary opportunities in history. Never before has the world been more of a global village than today. Events happen in real time for all of us in ways no previous generation has ever experienced. An earthquake shook China last year and within minutes with the strides mankind has made in mass communications every corner of the world was aware of this unfolding tragedy.

We have all witnessed the trauma of the financial crisis. An event on Wall Street for good or ill shakes the market in Asia the same day! We in the body of Christ have the grand opportunity through the vast global network to come together and pool our resources in a way that will affect the entire world. God is calling us one and all to make a commitment to him and each other in an unprecedented fashion today.

This generation of the church of Jesus Christ will be both a witness and a force for change. I believe we are on the verge of the most powerful outpouring of the Spirit ever witnessed by man. In one day there are a multiplicity of major ministries who in an hours broadcast reach out to more people than the first century church combined were able to reach in decades.

The stage has been set and the pieces put in place and God is even now beginning to communicate His message in new ways. Dedicated souls are coming together to seek the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit. Hearts are being stirred as the God of all the earth is preparing His church for that greatest of outpourings. A day of transformation is coming. Tens of thousands of believers the ones whom I shall call the truly committed are seeking the face of God today. There is a universal move that is not only transforming the hearts of believers all over the globe but is also crossing over all denominational barriers. A unity of purpose can be seen in that the truly committed are seeking our Lord not for personal gain but that we may one and all receive a new revelation of the heart and person of our heavenly Father.

One day soon the church of Jesus Christ is going to receive a new revelation and anointing. I do not believe that any one group shall be given this awakening.  We have never seen a time like this where so many ministries are finding they are ministering on a daily basis to literally every nation on earth through the force of mass communications.

Hungry hearts do not despair. In a day known only to God, His glory is going to shake His church and the inter-connected network of believers will shake as never before the entire world. The day of His glory is at hand and we who hunger and thirst for His presence shall be witnesses as the kingdom of God moves into its final phase.

Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan (

OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
NLT).

Copyright © 2009 Michael Plemmons. Used by permission.

Jesus, the Nazarene

The night before Jesus died, He and His disciples left the upper room where they celebrated the Passover feast. Slowly, as they had done many times before, they made their way to the Mount of Olives. The mood (I believe) in this small crowd was electric but solemn. The disciples were sad because Jesus had revealed to them He was leaving them. Jesus was beginning to feel the weight of what was coming on the morrow.

We can only imagine what thoughts occupied the mind of the Nazarene at this time. His mind could have drifted in reflection back over the past three years' work. In that time, He had demonstrated the heart and mind, and yes, the power of God. Yet, from the beginning, it had been a journey destined to bring Him to this moment.

He may have thought of standing on the banks of the Jordan River listening to the thundering voice of John the Baptist, who, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, proclaimed to all who would listen that he had been sent to prepare the way for the One who was coming. He was baptizing them with water, but the One who was coming would baptize with fire.

Jesus stepped into the water with all the broken, wounded seekers of truth to be baptized by John. In so doing, He proclaimed to the whole world that, for once and all time, He was going to take upon himself the sins of the whole world. He identified himself with the lost all around Him that day, and the Father and the Holy Spirit spoke of their divine approval of his act.

Yet three years later, we find Him ready to die in the place of every human being who had ever been born. He stopped and (I believe) raised His voice to Father and uttered the most anointed prayer ever recorded. Today, I want to focus on just one sentence from that prayer in John 17:

"I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one." (John 17:22 NLT)

In this sentence, we see the divine purpose of the Father in sending His Son to die for the sins of the entire world. Father knew that man had been corrupted and fundamentally changed on the inside by sin. Sin in the human heart produces lust in all its diverse forms: greed, hatred, and, most importantly, separated the human race from God.

The next day, Jesus's divine sacrifice would forevermore break down the wall between God and man. Yet Father had a much higher purpose in mind than just forgiveness of sins. As our text shows, Jesus came to give to the believers in Him through every generation the glory of God so that they might be one with Him. A divine union of God and man through the finished work of Jesus on the cross was to take place.

Jesus spoke what was (I believe) uppermost on His mind and heart that night. Father God wanted the power of sin to be broken in the hearts of all believers in Him; that we might by grace be lifted into the heavenlies and made a partaker of the glory of God, and thusly made aware that we share a holy union with the Father and Son on the same level that they share with each other.

So, poor hurting soul, wherever you are and whatever your circumstance, Jesus has opened to your heart a new divine reality He wishes to share with you. We in Christ have hope for tomorrow because of the divine witness in our hearts of a better world coming, for the meek Nazarene is still speaking. As it is written, Christ in you is the hope of glory (see Colossians 3:4).

The Light of Life

CBN.com -- The Calendar tells us we have entered a new year. Never can I remember when so many voices have been clamoring to be heard. Ancient mystics like the Mayans tell us that this year is going to end in catastrophe. Still others fear an economic meltdown. The signs of potential disasters can readily be seen all around us in this hour.

I also believe these are dangerous times, and yet in these days of unprecedented worldwide alarm and concern, we of the Christian church are being called by our Father to humble ourselves before him.

The church of Jesus Christ and our world are entering its most critical hour. The signs in our world all point out serious concerns to which government leaders in nation after nation have no answers. In this hour where so many are having their hearts consumed with fear, is there someone in whom we can believe and trust?

Over two thousand years ago someone entered our world on a divine mission. He came to bring freedom and liberty to the world of man. At thirty years of age he answered the call of God on his life. Over the next three years he by his words and deeds brought a demonstration of love and compassion that changed the world.

His were hands of tenderness. His message brought hope to the thousands. He laid hands on the sick and oppressed and brought life into their lives. At the end of his life he who had walked in the power and demonstration of God, willingly laid down his life to bring freedom from darkness into the hearts of all people everywhere and for all time.

In the two thousand plus years since his resurrection his heart has remained the same. He is still calling out to all those hurt and wounded in our world. To that individual on a quest for truth, he claimed to be the very embodiment of all that truth is. He also said he was the way to truth and within him he had the ability to bring life into the human heart.

Sometimes we of the Christian faith forget just how simple the message of Jesus Christ is. We serve a living God and savior. His call to the church of Jesus Christ is to be filed with his love and passion for the hurting all around us. We are to lift holy hands not just in praise and worship, but to be a voice of life and light to a lost and hurting world.

Our hearts are to be filed with the compassion of God. His mission has never changed and all who would follow him must put others before themselves. Our call in this hour is to bring hope and love to the hurting and the desperate. He said we the church of Jesus Christ are the light of the world. Never has that light been more needed than now.

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. ( ">

OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
, NLT)

Can God change your life?

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Michael is a Partner Service Representative at CBN, and has been in active ministry for more than 30 years. He resides in Virginia Beach. Send comments to Michael Plemmons. Visit Michael's blogspot.