Written some 700 years before He was a twinkle in His mother’s eye, the birth and death of the Savior of the world was prophesied.
Category: Purpose
Stay Focused
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2
God knows you’re not perfect. He knew that when He sent His Son to the cross, and Christ knew that when He died for you. Don’t let the enemy keep you focused on your past sins. Repent and keep moving forward.
Then determine to focus on Christ and keep putting your faith in Him every day, in every circumstance. He will work out the rest!
In His Good Grace,
The Secret of Contentment
“But godliness with contentment is great gain.” 1 Timothy 6:6
It’s a strange juxtaposition in which we believers find ourselves. We are filled with Spirit of God Himself, bringing heaven down to earth and all the godly riches available to us with such a glorious gift, and yet at the same time we are still on this earth, saddled with these fleshly bodies, so prone to temptation, walking among earthly riches, seeing, smelling, contemplating, desiring…
The flesh and the spirit are at war.
But Paul reminds us that while godliness is good, godliness with contentment is greater. It is gain.
Holidays are supposed to be a joyous time, but they can be especially rough on some who have suffered a loss of some kind. The days when seemingly everyone else is rejoicing can be a magnifier for those losses or unfulfilled expectations.
But a magnifying glass only magnifies that on which we are solely focused. And when we focus the magnifying glass on the world and its temptations, even on those things that aren’t necessarily bad, but God has simply, in His wisdom and grace and mercy, not given them to us, then our focus becomes lust and envy.
We become discontent.
Contentment means we have moved the magnifying glass to focus on our Lord and Savior. We’re focused on Christ and God’s Spirit working in our lives, even through those losses, and have found we have all we need, and even more, to live an abundant life right here and right now.
In Philippians 4:11-12 Paul declared “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
And what is that secret to being content?
He doesn’t leave us wondering; in the next breath he tells us “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
No matter what our circumstances, and we are all in some kind of circumstances–don’t let the enemy tell you that everyone else’s life is perfect and yours isn’t—Jesus Christ gives us strength, not just to endure, but to thrive, to be spiritually well-fed and well-clothed, to have all our physical needs met to the glory of His Name, the magnification of His goodness and faithfulness.
In the world there is always something more to want, something more to chase after. Just like we can stuff ourselves silly on Thanksgiving only to be hungry again two hours later, the world will never satisfy. But the overflowing, never-ending, treasure of God will satisfy the soul because that’s what we’re created for.
“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” 2 Cor. 9:8
The same word that is “contentment” in 1 Timothy 6:6 is used as “sufficiency” here in 2 Corinthians.
Contentment–magnifying Christ in our hearts and minds–knowing He is sufficient for all our needs and able to work through those difficult or even impossible situations, watching Him move every mound of dirt until our mountain is thrown into the sea, will bring us a satisfaction that no amount of earthly riches ever will.
Contentment means we don’t have to worry about our needs because God’s got it covered. We can come off the sidelines of dismay as we realize the eternal treasures that are ours in the Lord and the strength we receive frees us to carry on, faithfully doing the good work He has carved out for us to do.
In His Good Grace,
Want to be the Greatest?
“Then He (Jesus) placed a little child among them; and taking the child in His arms He said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming my Father who sent me!’” Mark 9:36-37
Jesus and His apostles had just traveled through Galilee and had come to a house in Capernaum. I can just imagine all the things twelve men might discuss on a long, hot, dusty journey. Jesus found one discussion on this journey of particular interest. Once they were settled, Jesus asked them what they had been talking about along the way. Of course He already knew.
“But they were ashamed to answer, for they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest! He sat down and called them around Him and said, ‘Anyone wanting to be the greatest must be the least—the servant of all!’” Mark 9:34-35
And there it is. The answer to the question we all ask. We all long for a purpose in life. We all want to be great, to be important in some way, that is, to contribute, to leave our mark on the world. To know that our life has meaning.
Jesus says God’s way is different than the world’s way. It’s a 180 degrees opposite, in fact, than the way world seeks to find meaning. It’s not about being the richest or most famous or most influential or most good looking or hanging with those who are. It’s not about climbing the ladder, or being one of the elite so that others will serve us.
It’s about bending down. It’s about noticing the least of these. It’s about loving and serving and providing for those who are in need, for those who are most helpless and most dependent on the mercy of others. Jesus says lead by putting yourself last and being the greatest servant!
Only when we’ve humbled ourselves enough to serve the likes of a child—one who has no ability to give us anything in return–it is with this same humbled attitude that we can then truly submit ourselves to Christ and receive Him to ourselves. Then we will find meaning and purpose for our life.
And when we do feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned, Jesus said in Matthew 25:40 “When you did it to these my brothers, you were doing it to me!”
Jesus says that when we serve others, we are serving Him.
And when we do serve these precious ones, like the one Jesus held in His arms, we are most like Christ. We are His arms and hands and feet.
Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham, gives us an opportunity to do just that through Operation Christmas Child. Every year they collect shoeboxes that people like you have filled with toys, school supplies, hygiene necessities, clothing, shoes, and all kinds of goodies, and then present them to children all over the world for Christmas, along with the good news of Jesus Christ.
And Christmas is right around the corner!
In order to have time to ship the shoeboxes to where they’re going, National Collection Week this year is November 17-24. That’s only 9 weeks from today! You can look on their website to find the collection location nearest to you. The cost for shipping is $7 per box, and you can even donate that online if you want to find out where your box(es) is going. You can find all the information on their website.
What a joy to serve these precious children and bless them in not only practical ways, but to help make a difference in their lives with the love and message of Christ.
Blessings!
The Fiercest Battle
Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.
Matthew 10:34-36
Whoa. That is some pretty inflammatory language Jesus is using here. Did not come to bring peace? A sword? Enemies?
What on earth could Jesus be talking about?
First, we need to understand who He’s talking to. Jesus is giving instruction to the twelve disciples as He sends them out, specifically to the Jews, as His witnesses to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases and drive out demons.
But before they head out, they need to understand His message, and what they’ll be up against. Many, even the disciples, were under the impression that when the Messiah came He would set up His kingdom on earth and reign over all, bringing peace, ending famine and wars.
But Jesus makes it clear that is not His mission. Not yet, anyway.
As they went, they were to proclaim this message: the kingdom of heaven is near. The Messiah has come.
And He came to be the fulfillment of the law.
The law showed us we were sinners, and sin requires a payment of death. Jesus came to die in our place to pay for our sins. He came to make truth known, even as He Himself is truth. But not everyone wants to hear that they’re a sinner. And of those who know they’re a sinner, not everyone wants to be saved from it.
Jesus references the words of the prophet Micah in Micah 7:6. Micah lamented about the terrible times in which he lived when sin was rampant, and there were few who held onto faith and righteousness. And many of those who did found that their sons or daughters or other family members fell into the other camp—the one that reveled in immorality–and that caused strife, to say the least.
Centuries later, the disciples would find that, again, there would be relatively few who would choose faith and righteousness, even among the ancient sons and daughters of God. Few who would choose to align themselves with the truth—Jesus Christ. The disciples themselves would be among the few who stood in a world full of people who would rather deny the Christ and live in their own sinfulness. Even then the disciples were unaware that there was one among them, a friend, a fellow servant, who would choose sin over Christ.
And now, centuries later, the story is the same. Sin is rampant and there are few in this world who acknowledge their sin and put their faith in Christ. And even among those who call themselves Christians, there are fewer still who are willing to submit their whole lives to Him, leave the world behind, take up their crosses daily and live upright lives before their God.
And for those who do, for those who know that truth triumphs over sin and evil and destruction and death, for those who desire to live in that truth, we will, sooner or later, be called on to make a choice.
Someone we love, a close friend, a fellow servant, someone in our own family, someone who doesn’t adhere to the truth, will want to sin and drag us along with them. They won’t understand why we won’t do this or allow that. And a son will be against his father, a daughter against her mother, a fellow servant against another.
And a battle will ensue. This is the metaphoric sword Jesus speaks of.
The battle could get bloody. Sharp words may well be thrown our way. Wounds will be inflicted. Relationships could die. We could feel as though our heart is being ripped clean out of our chest. And all the while we’ll need to keep loving them and praying for them.
The inner struggle will be to not to let our flesh take over, to not retaliate with harsh words of our own, but to keep praying, remembering we don’t battle against flesh and blood but against an enemy we cannot see.
Prayer is the real battleground, and whether or not we choose to remain in prayer is where the battle will be won or lost.
Through it all we might have an inkling of the pain Christ suffered on the cross.
Are we willing to risk it all for Him? Is His cause our cause?
It’s at this moment when the foundation of our faith will be revealed. Is it sure? Do we stand on the Rock which does not move, is not shaken and does not compromise? Is our love for Him real?
Or will we falter? Will we choose sin over truth? Now is the time to choose, not when we’re in the heat of battle and the enemy is coming at us full force. Put on the spiritual armor and don’t take it off.
Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy. He will get at us any way he can, even through family members. Especially through family members. He will come and whisper “It’s just a little sin. Just a little compromise won’t hurt. And you love them, right? You don’t want them angry with you.”
If we listen and give in, before we know it we’re far from God, and so is the one we love.
Stand strong.
Love them enough not to compromise. This is not a battle for mere ground or castles or other earthly kingdoms. This is a battle for hearts and eternities.
And love Christ more. He saved us and He wants to save the other person in our lives whose ways are at odds with His, whose heart is far from Him and whose eternity will be a bitter one unless they have a lighthouse to show them the way.
Better than keeping a false, temporary peace, be a light shining the truth of God, so they can find their way to Him and experience real, lasting, eternal peace.
One day you may see a glimmer of hope. You’re gaining ground. Hearts are softening. Christ is winning.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
Trials and Triumphs
A 12-year-old boy kills his sister and later finds the forgiveness and love of a great and merciful God.
An angry man, disillusioned by a God who would allow untimely deaths in his family, is later visited by the presence of God, washed in His peace and finds the love of God is all he needs.
A woman turns to the gay community and lifestyle and later allows the truth of God to dispel the lies as He heals her heart and she finds a new life in Him.
A Christian woman struggles with resentment toward God as she watches her believing mother deteriorate from Alzheimer’s disease, but would in time come to understand that the reason was full of God’s grace.
And my own story of growing up with parents suffering from mental illness and substance abuse, then turning to anything and everything in the world to deaden the pain and try to find love, and later finding real love and the forgiveness of Christ in a tiny church filled with the Spirit of God.
These are just a few of the testimonies of God’s faithfulness, grace and forgiveness in the lives of ordinary people who were touched by an extraordinary God in the book Trials and Triumphs, Hope Beyond Circumstances, Forty Life-Changing Testimonies.
I am so blessed to be a part of this project, one of the forty people who tell their stories of grace–either how they came to Christ, or how they held onto Him in difficult circumstances. Each fascinating account is authored by the person who experienced it. Every story is unique, but each one points to the same God, the same Lord Who is willing to forgive and give strength and courage to anyone who genuinely seeks Him.
Any believer can watch the news or look at their own family members, friends, co-workers, and on and on can see that the world needs a Savior. People are starving for the love and forgiveness that we know only God can give through His Son, Jesus Christ.
But the enemy of God is hard at work lying, deceiving and bringing destruction on anyone who believes those lies.
Revelation 12:11-12 tells us that “They overcame him (satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony;”
People can dispute a lot of things about God, but no one can dispute what God has done in our own lives. All of us who know Christ as our Lord and Savior have a testimony, the story of who we were before we put our faith in Christ, and how He’s changed our hearts and lives since. Stories of how He’s loved us, intervened for us in miraculous ways, provided for us and protected us, and another page to our story is written every day.
That, God’s Word says, is how the enemy will be defeated in the lives of those family members and friends and co-workers. As we tell the truth of God’s love, just as someone, somewhere told us, by the faith given by God and the blood of the Lamb, they will be snatched from the enemy’s mouth and set firmly in the hands of God.
Think of it: we have the privilege of joining with Christ to defeat the enemy that has lingered and lied and destroyed since the Garden of Eden by sharing our witness to those lost and dying in their sin.
Maybe you know someone right now who needs to hear these stories of faith. Maybe you need to be encouraged and comforted yourself as you face struggles of your own. I pray this book brings hope and magnifies the grace that is our God in the lives of many around the world.
If you’re so inclined, you can find it on Amazon at the link on the right.
Grace and Peace!
How to Pray
Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1
It was a wise request, and we would be wise to ask it, too.
So what did the Lord say?
“When you pray, say:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.”
Luke 11:2-4
A lot of people take this instruction literally, and this is the only prayer they pray. But God doesn’t want us to just recite words; He wants our hearts. Prayer is not getting God to do what we want, but it’s a gracious open door of communication so that God can show us His will and change the rhythm of our hearts to beat with His. Jesus gives His disciples, us included, a peek into God’s heart through this prayer. So let’s unpack it just a little a bit and see how we are to pray.
“When you pray, say:”
This word prayer means worship. Prayer is not a time to jump in, ask for a bunch of things, and leave. It’s a time where we enter into worship of the Most High God.
“Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.”
These two sentences are very telling.
Jesus introduces the radical notion that we have the privilege of calling God our Father. He is closer to us than some impersonal God “way up there.” He loves us as a parent loves a child (and even more) and when we go to Him in prayer we can be assured that He hears us and will provide us with every good thing.
At the same time Jesus reminds us our Father is hallowed, or holy. He is not like our earthly fathers. He is sacred, pure, blameless and righteous. Any fears or emotional baggage we may have because of our earthly fathers do not apply to our Heavenly Father. We can trust Him.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
The word kingdom means rule, a realm or a reign. Now that the Holy Spirit has come, we who have put our faith in Christ have the privilege of knowing God not just from the outside, but from the inside. And to properly worship God in prayer we must continually give Him permission to rule our hearts. It’s so easy to take back the reins, if you will.
As we give our hearts to be a kingdom for God to reside, we’ll want His will, not ours. In heaven everything happens God’s way. There is no sin. It is filled with the glory of God and all He is.
In Isaiah 55:8-9, God tells us “’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’”
God’s thoughts, desires and will, are all so very different, so much higher than our own. And when we pray that God’s will be done here on earth like it is in heaven, that’ll mean He’s going to shake things up a bit, and it’s going to start with changing our hearts. Are you willing to let God do radical things in and through you?
“Give us day by day our daily bread.”
God doesn’t give us what we’ll need tomorrow today. He gives us what we need today today, so we need to go to Him every day.
Not only do we need to get physical bread—food, and even on a broader scale, physical or material needs–but we need spiritual bread.
Most of us would never think of going a day (or even a few hours!) without eating. We need to be spiritually fed as often.
“And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.’” John 6:35
Jesus is our sustenance. As we remain in Him, He will bless us with everything we need.
“And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.”
When we hold unforgiveness (or any sin) in our hearts, whether we’re resisting repenting of our own sins or forgiving someone who has sinned against us, we put up a wall between us and God.
“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” Isaiah 59:2
Ask God to bring to your mind those things you need to specifically repent of, and the people you need to forgive. There are times that past, hurtful situations come to my mind and it’s easy to sit and stew in the anger all over again. But those are divinely-inspired opportunities to forgive someone who may have slipped from our consciousness, but God knows that anger is creating a root of bitterness, and He brings them to our minds to give us a chance to forgive. We may have temporarily forgotten, but God hasn’t. He knows the destruction it causes in our hearts. Remember, forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling.
“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
This literally means to rescue us from the evil one–the one seeks to steal, kill and destroy. We’ve repented of our sins and the last thing we want to do is rush right back into sin through the temptations we face. We need discipline and as we hold onto the Lord, He will give us the strength and courage we need.
The concise way of saying all that is to remember ACTS:
Adoration – praising God for all He is
Confession – repenting of, or turning away from our sin
Thanksgiving – thanking God for all He’s done, all He does and all He will do
Supplication – presenting our needs before the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills
This is a good guideline to get our hearts right as we enter into worship so we don’t get a case of the “gimmes.” You know, give me this and give me that.
The National Day of Prayer uses this acronym:
Praise
Repent
Ask
Yield.
And just as important as knowing what to say, is knowing how to be silent. To sit before God and let Him speak to our hearts is a precious gift indeed.
God bless you as you pray,
Why Pray?
“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’
And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’ Luke 18:1-8
This Thursday, May 1, is the National Day of Prayer, and our country and world are in desperate need of it. Prayer has taken a back seat in favor of entertainment, the pursuit of money, even religion. Our time with God has been neglected. How do I know? Because I look around at the state of things and I see the fruit of it.
I see morals being thrown out the window by the bucketful. I see people using one another for their own gain. I see adults’ behavior regressing into immaturity and downright childishness. I see the family unit disintegrating more and more. I see disrespect and even hatred on a whole new level. I see sin coming out of the darkness and living proudly in the light for all to see, and I see people afraid to stand up against it. I see the pain and suffering caused by rampant sin.
And more and more those who call themselves Christians are looking and walking and talking no differently than non-believers.
Yet I see Christians pointing an accusing finger at the world and talk about how awful it is and if they’d just straighten up and fly right everything would be okay. But God says that “if MY people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
God doesn’t tell the world to change, He tells His own people that if we will repent, and if we will submit and turn from our old man and live righteously before Him, then God will our land. We are the example to the world. We are to be salt and light. And when we are right with God then we will be able to, by the grace of God and the blood of Christ, stand in the gap between God and unbelievers and pray that God will open their spiritual eyes and that they will be saved.
It starts with us.
I was saved, because of the persistent, year-long prayers of a Christian, when I was 25 years old. By that time I’d already formed a lot of erroneous beliefs. One was that abortion was acceptable since our laws give us a right to it, and the other was that God and satan were equal powers, the only difference being that one was a power for good and the other for evil.
But the moment I was saved and indwelt by the power of the Holy Spirit, my eyes were opened and those two beliefs were dispelled. I knew immediately that abortion was wrong and that God’s power over satan was infinite.
The only way to see our country and world transformed is to pray for them, one person at a time. To pray that God will soften hearts and open eyes, like He did mine, and that people will be saved.
A lot of us are weary, though. We’re weary of seeing sin gain the upper hand. We’re weary of trying and feeling like we’re moving two steps forward and one step back. We’re weary of praying and praying and praying and not seeing results. I get it. I’ve been there.
There are some things I’ve prayed years for and still have yet to see fruit. But that doesn’t mean nothing’s happening. God is making things happen behind the scenes that I’ll never see. He waits for circumstances, other people, our hearts and a multitude of other things to be just right before He can answer prayers.
Some He’ll answer quickly, and some take a lifetime. But His timing is always, always perfect. There are some answers where I’m beginning to see the bud develop, but it’s taken an excruciatingly long period of time. And there are some things I prayed a long time for, and now know those things will never happen. And in those instances hope can take a hard hit.
But God says don’t give up. Hope in Him.
In the Luke 18 parable, Jesus illustrated that if even an unrighteous person relents to someone’s pleas simply because they don’t give up, how much more will God, who is fully righteous and loving towards His children, give to them when they continue to seek Him?
Yes, you’re weary. And distracted. So am I.
So why pray? The bottom line is this: God wants to see our prayers answered. He wants to show us His will. He wants to broaden our dreams and give us victory in this life. And what’s more, He wants us to have the peace and courage and wisdom we need every day, and the only way to have those is through prayer. That’s why He tells us to pray and keep on praying. Some answers to prayer simply take a long time. And what if we give up before it’s time?
So let’s find a little corner and sit down at the feet of Jesus—the giver of strength and peace and wisdom–and pray, and gain our strength again.
Let’s stand in the gap for our family, our church, our friends, our neighborhood, our state, our country, our world.
Our children and grandchildren are growing up fast and the legacy we leave them in this world will depend on if we choose to pray or not. It’s a responsibility and privilege we can no longer take for granted.
Here is the link to the website for the National Day of Prayer. I hope you’ll choose to be one of those on the front lines of prayer for our nation and our world as the time draws closer to the Lord’s return.
And when He does, as Jesus asked, will He find faith? Will you and I be the ones He sees holding onto our faith in Him as we continue to seek Him in prayer?
Tomorrow we’ll talk about how to pray. Please pray for me as I seek the Lord for wisdom.
God bless you as you pray!
The Third Day
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” John 11:25-26
The whole world thought he was dead.
Their hopes had been so high. Living under an oppressive rule, he had emerged as a man who performed miracles among the least of them — the poor, the lame, the blind, the leper, the demon-possessed. So many lives had changed beyond anything they could have imagined. They were healed, brought back to life, rejoined to their families, all because of one man.
One man had noticed them when no one else had. When the only other attention given to them was shame or pity, he had seen them. He had looked into their eyes, into their very souls, and validated their existence.
He had done and said things no one ever had. He worked on the Sabbath and made no apologies. He overturned the tables and cleared the temple for making a mockery of it. He stood in the faces of hypocritical religious leaders and called them blind guides and whitewashed tombs. He fed thousands with a boy’s lunch.
They’d hoped to make him king. He was on his way to greatness and they were on their way to freedom. Just a week before they had celebrated him.
And now he was dead.
His disciples were in mourning. He had said something to them about being raised on the third day, but who could know what he meant now. The past three years were gone, and it all seemed a blur. Things seemed to be headed in such a hopeful direction. Once they thought he’d be their leader and they’d serve alongside him. He would redeem Israel. He would be their savior.
Now he was a prophet at best. Just a good man lying dead inside a tomb. Where was God? Why did He let it happen? Jesus’ life and theirs had all taken a turn they never saw coming, and all their hopes and dreams were gone.
But things aren’t always as they seem.
Beyond their understanding, beyond their imagination, beyond their greatest hopes and dreams, Christ rose from the dead on the third day, just like He said He would.
Now, with the benefit of 2000 years and God’s Word, we know the end of the story. We know there was a purpose for His death. We know He was indeed the Christ, the Messiah who was to come, and that He had to die and live again for the remission of the sins of mankind. We know He stayed with them, teaching them for another forty days, and then He ascended into heaven to the right hand of the Father where He rules forever.
God’s ways were much higher than Jesus’ disciples ever could have imagined. He didn’t come just to save Israel for this life, but all believers for eternity. He didn’t come to be just king of a country, but King of our hearts. We know He wasn’t only a prophet or a good man, He was, and is, God.
And in His resurrection, He showed His power over death. He proved the words He’d spoken to them: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6
Resurrection morning is all about life. His life and ours. It’s about the Source of life coming down to redeem us and give us new life. Not only did Christ rise, but in Him we rise. When we believe in Him we’re forgiven of all our sins and His life courses through our veins. We have the promise of our souls rising from the grave the moment our life here ends, and our bodies at the end of all things.
But we are not yet resurrected. We are still bound to these bodies and we battle sin in ourselves and in the world every day. And there are times our lives can take a jolting turn. Like the disciples, we can have plans that God doesn’t have. Life had been moving along so well and we had it all mapped out. And then there was the loss of something — a child, a spouse, a parent, a career, a friendship, health. Something changed and it wasn’t supposed to be that way. Disillusion sets in. All our hopes and dreams are gone.
And we can be like the disciples in those long hours after their friend’s lifeless body had been carried away for burial. We wonder what happened. We wonder where God is and how things could have turned out so differently than we thought they would. The hours tick by and we wonder if the third day will ever come. We feel lost, confused and alone.
But things aren’t always as they seem.
In the dark hours of suffering and loss we can understand what the disciples didn’t: that our preconceived notions and personal hopes and dreams have to die if God’s are to live in and through us. Just as God wanted to do so much more than the disciples could have imagined, He wants to do much more in our lives than we can ever dream.
We see the end of the story that the disciples had not yet seen. And God sees the end of our story. He sees what He is making us to be. He sees what’s on the other side of that hill in our journey. He sees the joy on our faces as He raises us from the dead and we join Him in heaven. He sees us living whole, glorified lives, our souls freed from every kind of pain to soar forever with Him in new life.
He is the Author of Life, and we can trust Him.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16
Christ’s power over death is at work in us right now. It may not look like it; it may not feel like it. But the disciples would all tell us that looks and feelings can be deceiving. We can have His joy now, knowing our third day will come soon. And one day that joy will be complete, when the Maker of Life raises us with Him. His resurrection gives us a taste of that new life now, and a glimpse of the glory to come.
In Him,
Belief is Worship
“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said:
‘Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.’
Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.” Hebrews 3:12-19
Don’t miss that this letter is written to brothers and sisters in the faith, yet the author warns them against unbelief. How could they not believe once they’ve believed?
I believed in – put my faith in, trusted in – Christ as my Lord and Savior 24 years ago, yet in that 24 years the Lord has told me many things that have been hard to believe. We believe unto salvation once, and afterward we make countless choices to believe (or not believe) truths unto maturity.
Unbelief is rebellion and fear. Belief is worship.
Whatever you hear from your shepherd, whichever way He leads you, choose to believe and follow. Continue to put your faith in Him, and He will lead you into a life of victory.
Grace and Peace,