Apr 13 2017
Leave a comment
Devos

An Easter reflection: “Death swallowed up in victory!”

Empty tombTomorrow, “Good Friday” we honor and reflect on Jesus’ death.  Sunday we celebrate His resurrection!  Easter, for Christians, is a big deal!  This morning during my time of “Coffee with the Lord” I read Apostle Paul’s reflection about it again at the end of 1 Corinthians 15…

So here is my reflection on Paul’s words found there:  The resurrection of Jesus… His victory over death and its significance for us…

First of all, our resurrection!  And not only resurrected… Transformed!  New bodies, never to die again!  Incorruptible!  Death swallowed up – overcome – in victory – His victory!  “I tell you this:  flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  Behold! I tell you a mystery!  We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet!  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.  For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.  When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory! (15:50-54)

And secondly, victory over sin!  We can live an overcoming life because of His victory – His resurrection!  Compare 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 with Romans 6:4:  “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the VICTORY though our Lords Jesus Christ! … and then, “We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk IN NEWNESS OF LIFE!”

And finally, significance in serving Him… No effort, no labor, no service for Him in vain!  Not only significant, rewarded!  “Therefore, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, KNOWING THAT IN THE LORD YOUR LABOR IS NOT IN VAIN!” (15:58)

Oh, am I glad for the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus!

Apr 13 2017
Leave a comment
Devos

Dealing with Guilt… God’s way!

GuiltGuilt is a vicious tyrant! It haunts, attacks, injures, devastates, distorts, even deranges. And there are two kinds… a false sense of guilt (feeling guilty when a person isn’t guilty) and true guilt (because of sin committed before God and man).

But it does no good to deny guilt or ignore it – guilt is real (even if it is a false sense of guilt)! And according to the Bible we’re all guilty … “There is no distinction: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!” (Romans 3:23)

So I read one of the great passages in Scripture this morning that provides the spiritual medicine that can heal the guilty heart – Psalm 51. It tells us what King David did when the prophet, Nathan, prompted by the Holy Spirit, pointed his finger at David and declared, “You are the man!” after David had plotted the death of Uriah to cover up his adultery with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife (2 Samuel 11-12).

David dealt with his guilt by praying what we read in Psalm 51! I’ve summarized his prayer under three headings. He prayed…

…“God forgive me!”

…“God cleanse me!”

…And “God restore me!”

Here is a condensed summary of His prayer (but you really ought to read it yourself – and perhaps pray the entire Psalm if you’re struggling with guilt)…

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to Your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight! … Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow… Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit… You will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; You will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices You desire are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise!” (From Psalm 51 ESV)

It works! It’s God’s way of dealing with guilt! Apostle John realized that, he wrote, “If we confess [acknowledge] our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness!” (1 John 1:9)

Apr 12 2017
Leave a comment
Devos

The resurrection of Jesus – pretense or historical reality?

Children pretending2Pretending… We usually think of it as a child’s game. Pretending that you are someone or something you’re really not – acting like something is true or a reality, when it isn’t. Can you think of some of the things children have pretended to be and do – things they have pretended are real when they really aren’t? Their pretending usually brings a smile, a wink, a snicker or a Facebook pic or post.

But tragically pretending has also been an adult coping mechanism with some very sad and tragic “acting out” and deep disappointment… people denying who they really are, refusing to accept what they have done, denying the reality of a situation, or living life in a fantasy land that is completely removed from reality!

What about Easter (it’s just around the corner you know – Christians celebrate it this Sunday)? Is belief in the resurrection a case of Christians pretending – or is it a reality? Is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead about as real as the “Easter bunny?”

Apostle Paul would answer that question with a resounding “NO!” (In fact, he already answered it in 1 Corinthians 15 – I read his answer this morning during my devotions in the Bible…)

“But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there is no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And all of us have been lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead! … So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man, Jesus! … If there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” (from 1 Corinthians 15:12–33 NLT)

Can you imagine Christians who have staked their eternal future on the truth of the Gospel “pretending” about the resurrection? Well it’s happening among professing “Christians” today – questioning that Jesus actually rose from the dead! Well, let me say it clearly… NOT ME! And I hope not you! I intend to take Paul’s words very seriously! Easter is about the actual death, burial, AND RESURRECTION of Jesus from the dead! I’m pinning my eternal hope on that reality! It’s not a pretend truth to make people feel good – It’s a historical reality!

← Older posts
Newer posts →