March 31
"Who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" Isaiah 53:1
May you proclaim boldly with millions of believers through the centuries, "I believe, for HE REVEALS HIS STRONG ARM IN THE BEHALF OF MY PRAYERS; FOR HE REVEALS HIS GREAT POWER IN ME!
Other than to quote the angels in Matthew 28:6, "HE IS NOT HERE, HE HAS RISEN AS HE SAID," I will allow the Word of God to speak for itself regarding the cross, the tomb, and the resurrection:
I Corinthians 1:17-31
Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
Christ the Wisdom and Power of God For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are: That no flesh should glory in His presence.
But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Saturday
March 30
Today we sit in the agony of gloom and defeat. Today we are haunted by the horrible sights of yesterday that are impressed indelibly upon our mind’s eye. The beautiful, kind, loving, perfect man with whom we have walked, with whom we have broken bread, to whom we have listened in awe for three years, is lying broken and battered in a borrowed tomb.
Today, we hide in fear of the Romans who nailed Him to the cross and in dread of our own leaders who insisted He be crucified. Today we marvel at the fickleness of man who jubilantly shouted “Hosanna” and cast palm fronds at His feet (Matthew 21:9) as He entered Jerusalem and who yelled, “Give us Barabbas,” (John 18:40) when Pilate would have set Him free.
Today we are overtaken by confusion and doubt. Today we are disappointed in ourselves because we didn’t stand by Him at His time of need. Today we are disappointed in Him because He left us broken and disappointed when we thought we were to reign beside Him in His glorious Kingdom.
Today we are hiding from ourselves, from our anguish, from our anger, from our utter disbelief in our total immersion in His failed cause. Today we are too broken to do so, but we know we must plot our way back to normal life—when we overcome our fear of the Romans, we must face the reality of our failure through the scoffing of our neighbors and friends—and return to the work-a-day world.
Today we ponder our return to the mundanity of life without the excitement of working for the Kingdom; without the joy of walking with the King.
Today we sit in the agony of gloom and defeat. Today we are haunted by the horrible sights of yesterday that are impressed indelibly upon our mind’s eye. The beautiful, kind, loving, perfect man with whom we have walked, with whom we have broken bread, to whom we have listened in awe for three years, is lying broken and battered in a borrowed tomb.
Today, we hide in fear of the Romans who nailed Him to the cross and in dread of our own leaders who insisted He be crucified. Today we marvel at the fickleness of man who jubilantly shouted “Hosanna” and cast palm fronds at His feet (Matthew 21:9) as He entered Jerusalem and who yelled, “Give us Barabbas,” (John 18:40) when Pilate would have set Him free.
Today we are overtaken by confusion and doubt. Today we are disappointed in ourselves because we didn’t stand by Him at His time of need. Today we are disappointed in Him because He left us broken and disappointed when we thought we were to reign beside Him in His glorious Kingdom.
Today we are hiding from ourselves, from our anguish, from our anger, from our utter disbelief in our total immersion in His failed cause. Today we are too broken to do so, but we know we must plot our way back to normal life—when we overcome our fear of the Romans, we must face the reality of our failure through the scoffing of our neighbors and friends—and return to the work-a-day world.
Today we ponder our return to the mundanity of life without the excitement of working for the Kingdom; without the joy of walking with the King.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Today
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
ON THE CROSS
Love was compressed for all history in that lonely figure on the cross, who said that he could call down angels at any moment on a rescue mission, but chose not to -- because of us. At Calvary, God accepted his own unbreakable terms of justice. -- Philip Yancey
Today
Today, His followers see Him scourged with the notorious Roman cat of nine tails. Today, they see Him brutalized and mocked. Today they watch Him fall under the weight of His cross; perhaps it was the weight of our sin that He bore that truly weighed Him down. Today they watched Him as the thorns bloodied His brow and the nails pierced His hands and feet. Today they watched the Roman soldiers cast lots for His seamless robe. Today they saw the Pharisees gloat in their destruction of the One they hated. Today God's ancient enemy basked in self-satisfaction. Because today HE died.
May the Lord be with you today and give you the assurance of His promises that always outweigh the gloom of today. Today was not the end on that awful Friday and today is not the conclusion of the matter now.
ON THE CROSS
Love was compressed for all history in that lonely figure on the cross, who said that he could call down angels at any moment on a rescue mission, but chose not to -- because of us. At Calvary, God accepted his own unbreakable terms of justice. -- Philip Yancey
Today
Today, His followers see Him scourged with the notorious Roman cat of nine tails. Today, they see Him brutalized and mocked. Today they watch Him fall under the weight of His cross; perhaps it was the weight of our sin that He bore that truly weighed Him down. Today they watched Him as the thorns bloodied His brow and the nails pierced His hands and feet. Today they watched the Roman soldiers cast lots for His seamless robe. Today they saw the Pharisees gloat in their destruction of the One they hated. Today God's ancient enemy basked in self-satisfaction. Because today HE died.
May the Lord be with you today and give you the assurance of His promises that always outweigh the gloom of today. Today was not the end on that awful Friday and today is not the conclusion of the matter now.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Hope
March 28
Hope springs eternal. - Alexander Pope
Hope does spring eternal—an insightful observation on the part of Alexander Pope. He doesn’t go far enough, however, for the reason it does is because the Lord is faithful. HIS WORD tells us regarding our amazing Father and God, "Great is Thy faithfulness, O God. Thy mercies are renewed every morning," Lamentations 3:22, 23. So we awaken today with the expectation that no matter what we faced yesterday, no matter what we may face today—no matter how good or how challenging; no matter what the people we encounter may extend to us of kindness or of cruelty—we will be steadfast in our hope because our HOPE IS IN JESUS, not in the highs or lows of life and not in the people that populate our space.
Whatever you do today, YOU will be a vessel of light and hope and faith and truth and genuine love that flows from the heart of Christ. YOU will be all the brighter a reflection of the light of the Lord if those around you choose to be enshrouded in the gloom of their own self-righteousness rather than reflections of His light. (See John 1:5). No matter what THEY do, YOU will be the Lord's emissary of hope because you are His and He is yours! You are His light, reflected into the darkness. (See Matthew 5:15 and Mark 4:21.)
If worldly people look at you askance, reflect Jesus' love. If they speak unkindly, respond with Jesus' kindness. If they embrace you warmly, reach out gently as the Lord would—but without being deluded by their charade, for the Word tells us that we must be “wise as serpents, harmless as doves,” Matthew 10:16. We also know that the world, “loves its own,” but hates the people of Christ. (See John 15:19.)
Your hope springs eternal but your hope isn't in people...your hope is in the Lord who made heaven and earth and who made you His own beloved and precious child when you placed your life at the cross and allowed Him to make you new in the cleansing flow of His shed blood. Your hope springs eternal, but your hope isn't in the rise or fall of human friendships or loyalties or in their acceptance or their rejection...your hope is in the finished work of Calvary.
As you reflect real truth, real joy, real love to artificial people, they will have the opportunity within their spirits to accept or reject the Christ who projects His attributes through you, His child. What they do with you is a reflection of what they do with Jesus. Because JESUS is your HOPE, it is new this morning as He is with you this morning. Because JESUS is your HOPE, HOPE springs eternal in you—for every day of time and every eon of eternity, these are HIS gifts to you. HOPE THOU IN THE LORD AND HE SHALL BRING IT TO PASS. (See Psalm 37:1-6.)
Hope springs eternal. - Alexander Pope
Hope does spring eternal—an insightful observation on the part of Alexander Pope. He doesn’t go far enough, however, for the reason it does is because the Lord is faithful. HIS WORD tells us regarding our amazing Father and God, "Great is Thy faithfulness, O God. Thy mercies are renewed every morning," Lamentations 3:22, 23. So we awaken today with the expectation that no matter what we faced yesterday, no matter what we may face today—no matter how good or how challenging; no matter what the people we encounter may extend to us of kindness or of cruelty—we will be steadfast in our hope because our HOPE IS IN JESUS, not in the highs or lows of life and not in the people that populate our space.
Whatever you do today, YOU will be a vessel of light and hope and faith and truth and genuine love that flows from the heart of Christ. YOU will be all the brighter a reflection of the light of the Lord if those around you choose to be enshrouded in the gloom of their own self-righteousness rather than reflections of His light. (See John 1:5). No matter what THEY do, YOU will be the Lord's emissary of hope because you are His and He is yours! You are His light, reflected into the darkness. (See Matthew 5:15 and Mark 4:21.)
If worldly people look at you askance, reflect Jesus' love. If they speak unkindly, respond with Jesus' kindness. If they embrace you warmly, reach out gently as the Lord would—but without being deluded by their charade, for the Word tells us that we must be “wise as serpents, harmless as doves,” Matthew 10:16. We also know that the world, “loves its own,” but hates the people of Christ. (See John 15:19.)
Your hope springs eternal but your hope isn't in people...your hope is in the Lord who made heaven and earth and who made you His own beloved and precious child when you placed your life at the cross and allowed Him to make you new in the cleansing flow of His shed blood. Your hope springs eternal, but your hope isn't in the rise or fall of human friendships or loyalties or in their acceptance or their rejection...your hope is in the finished work of Calvary.
As you reflect real truth, real joy, real love to artificial people, they will have the opportunity within their spirits to accept or reject the Christ who projects His attributes through you, His child. What they do with you is a reflection of what they do with Jesus. Because JESUS is your HOPE, it is new this morning as He is with you this morning. Because JESUS is your HOPE, HOPE springs eternal in you—for every day of time and every eon of eternity, these are HIS gifts to you. HOPE THOU IN THE LORD AND HE SHALL BRING IT TO PASS. (See Psalm 37:1-6.)
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Count Your Blessings
March 27
Count Your Blessings. Anonymous
Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, who is the only Source of hope and the only Giver of joy. In Him we trust—no one else (Hebrews 12:1, 2).
When a man has a real, heart-transforming experience with Jesus Christ, he will clearly see himself as he is—and he won't like who he is (I John 3:2). And he will desire to be transformed by the renewing of his mind and heart into a clearer reflection of the Lord's kindness and love rather than maintain the status quo of his own self-righteousness and his own modicum of kindness (Romans 12:2).
That emergence from his cocoon of self into the beauty of the transformed man the Lord desires him to become will cause a man to become a reflection of Jesus, and in shining His light, the man who loves Him will be a true emissary of the Holy One. He will combine the scholarship in the Word employed by the Presbyterians with fervor in the HOLY SPIRIT of the Pentecostals that will enable his life to be a page from the Book of Acts.
Keep seeking Jesus. Keep trusting Jesus. Keep loving Jesus. Keep drinking in His WORD. Keep flowing in His SPIRIT. Keep EXPECTING to hear Him speak and keep expecting to feel His love, for He will not disappoint you (Hebrews 13:5).
You are more dearly loved than words can say by your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is the Lover of your soul and the Guardian of your life and the Perfector of all that touches you. He is the only Giver of your joy and of your hope. Trust Him and no one else. As you count your blessings, His truth and love and power will be affirmed.
Count Your Blessings. Anonymous
Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, who is the only Source of hope and the only Giver of joy. In Him we trust—no one else (Hebrews 12:1, 2).
When a man has a real, heart-transforming experience with Jesus Christ, he will clearly see himself as he is—and he won't like who he is (I John 3:2). And he will desire to be transformed by the renewing of his mind and heart into a clearer reflection of the Lord's kindness and love rather than maintain the status quo of his own self-righteousness and his own modicum of kindness (Romans 12:2).
That emergence from his cocoon of self into the beauty of the transformed man the Lord desires him to become will cause a man to become a reflection of Jesus, and in shining His light, the man who loves Him will be a true emissary of the Holy One. He will combine the scholarship in the Word employed by the Presbyterians with fervor in the HOLY SPIRIT of the Pentecostals that will enable his life to be a page from the Book of Acts.
Keep seeking Jesus. Keep trusting Jesus. Keep loving Jesus. Keep drinking in His WORD. Keep flowing in His SPIRIT. Keep EXPECTING to hear Him speak and keep expecting to feel His love, for He will not disappoint you (Hebrews 13:5).
You are more dearly loved than words can say by your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is the Lover of your soul and the Guardian of your life and the Perfector of all that touches you. He is the only Giver of your joy and of your hope. Trust Him and no one else. As you count your blessings, His truth and love and power will be affirmed.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Speak to Your Mountain
March 26
"If you believe, you may speak to this mountain, 'Be ye removed and cast into the sea and it shall be even as you say,'" Matthew 21:21.
Obviously, not many believers desire to create the upheaval of literally moving mountains into the sea. Our mountains are ones of fear, doubt, anxiety, depression, anger, vindictiveness, self-recrimination...and the list could go on.
Simply speaking to these negative, destructive emotions is not sufficient unless the words we say to them are rooted in our faith in Jesus, unless we truly believe that HE, at work within us and our circumstances, can make a difference for good in our lives. HE CAN, but the promise states very clearly, "If you believe..." Our God places a lot of value, a lot of importance on what we believe. He is not responsive to half-hearted faith, for if He were, half-hearted faith would be perceived as attaining reward. He does not want to give us that impression.
He is in the process of refining those who profess faith in Him, He wants them to own and employ a true, indefatigable faith that cannot be denied! He wants those who name His name to "Know whom I have believed and be persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him..." II Timothy 1:12. If He rewards paltry faith, we will attain paltry results. He want us to know we are "more than conquerors," Romans 8:37, and as such that we can indeed "move mountains" in our own behalf and in the behalf of His Kingdom and its purposes.
If we cannot employ the faith-power to topple the mountains of doubt and despair within our own limited sphere, how can He expect to use us to implement His purposes in the broader world, to be His conquering army of faithful believers who wrestle with the enemy for the souls of men in a fallen world that is steeped in more and ever-more corruption? How can we be soldiers who are trained in fierce combat with all that opposes God if we have not first put down the things within our own sphere that would defeat us?
So, we are challenged sorely! No shadow boxing, no cardboard swords, no paper helmets! We must be fully equipped (Ephesians 6:11) for the fight for the hearts and minds of men—and we cannot be effective in that monumental effort if we have not first been successful in conquering "the little foxes that spoil the vines" (Song of Solomon 2:15) of our own life and faith! Jesus allows us to struggle with our doubts, our depression, our anxiety—in order that we will be ready to do battle in the behalf of His Kingdom and that we will be successful in pulling down the one enemy whose defeat is imperative!
When we remove that 'mountain,' that one obstacle in our lives, we will have readied ourselves to pull him down wherever we find him because we will have proven our metal and we will have proven our faith—indeed, we will have proven Christ and His promises! We will know our metal is strong, our faith is unshakable and our Christ is faithful!
"If you believe, you may speak to this mountain, 'Be ye removed and cast into the sea and it shall be even as you say,'" Matthew 21:21.
Obviously, not many believers desire to create the upheaval of literally moving mountains into the sea. Our mountains are ones of fear, doubt, anxiety, depression, anger, vindictiveness, self-recrimination...and the list could go on.
Simply speaking to these negative, destructive emotions is not sufficient unless the words we say to them are rooted in our faith in Jesus, unless we truly believe that HE, at work within us and our circumstances, can make a difference for good in our lives. HE CAN, but the promise states very clearly, "If you believe..." Our God places a lot of value, a lot of importance on what we believe. He is not responsive to half-hearted faith, for if He were, half-hearted faith would be perceived as attaining reward. He does not want to give us that impression.
He is in the process of refining those who profess faith in Him, He wants them to own and employ a true, indefatigable faith that cannot be denied! He wants those who name His name to "Know whom I have believed and be persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him..." II Timothy 1:12. If He rewards paltry faith, we will attain paltry results. He want us to know we are "more than conquerors," Romans 8:37, and as such that we can indeed "move mountains" in our own behalf and in the behalf of His Kingdom and its purposes.
If we cannot employ the faith-power to topple the mountains of doubt and despair within our own limited sphere, how can He expect to use us to implement His purposes in the broader world, to be His conquering army of faithful believers who wrestle with the enemy for the souls of men in a fallen world that is steeped in more and ever-more corruption? How can we be soldiers who are trained in fierce combat with all that opposes God if we have not first put down the things within our own sphere that would defeat us?
So, we are challenged sorely! No shadow boxing, no cardboard swords, no paper helmets! We must be fully equipped (Ephesians 6:11) for the fight for the hearts and minds of men—and we cannot be effective in that monumental effort if we have not first been successful in conquering "the little foxes that spoil the vines" (Song of Solomon 2:15) of our own life and faith! Jesus allows us to struggle with our doubts, our depression, our anxiety—in order that we will be ready to do battle in the behalf of His Kingdom and that we will be successful in pulling down the one enemy whose defeat is imperative!
When we remove that 'mountain,' that one obstacle in our lives, we will have readied ourselves to pull him down wherever we find him because we will have proven our metal and we will have proven our faith—indeed, we will have proven Christ and His promises! We will know our metal is strong, our faith is unshakable and our Christ is faithful!
Monday, March 25, 2013
...Taken Seriously
March 25
Life is too important to be taken seriously. - Oscar Wilde
Although things do not look optimistic today—economic calamities, saber rattling, betrayal of allies—you have to recognize that nothing has really changed. As you are told in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” The same evil entity who has been about the scheme of undoing the work of God plods on with his evil intent; and the same Christ who has brought his mischief to nothing will still reign eternally. Those who believe are citizens of Heaven (Philippians 3:20) and their great hope is Jesus. Nothing has changed.
But the one great truth that covers both the destiny of men and nations, contrary to the words of Oscar Wilde, IS TOO IMPORTANT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY—“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” Hebrews 13:8. Your receipt of Him into your heart as Lord and Savior is the one event of life that can transform you eternally. Because of the Lord’s life, death, and resurrection, no man need taste death. Because He died in your place, and because, “In Him is life and the life is the light of men,” John 1:4, you need never walk in darkness.
Life, who you are in the inner man, who you are as a parent to your children, who you are in Christ, who you are eternally, is far more important than the impact of the ever-deepening darkness of the hearts of people who are governed by humanistic arrogance rather than by Christ-centered love (II Corinthians 4:16).
Just as your citizenship is not in fallen Earth but in Heaven, so your hope, your strength, you peace, your joy, your faith, your love are not in empty, broken, miserably-self-absorbed people but in the One Person who can transform the darkness of this world—whether political or personal—into light. Your hope, your light, is now, as it has ever been, in Jesus alone.
When you grasp that truth, you are truly free, truly happy—for you know every good thing you possess comes from His hand. You know that what HE gives transcends the ever ebbing and flowing fortunes of time. People, circumstances, governments can't give peace, hope, truth; and people, circumstances, governments can't take peace, hope, truth away. So continue to live your life for the Jesus who you profess to love and trust. Continue to strive to make your sphere of influence radiant with His light and to transform every life that touches yours with the power of His love.
You are His; you do His bidding in the darkness, hoping that His glory as it reflects from you will draw others who will allow themselves to love Him and allow His light to transform their gloom into His radiance. Eternal life is far too important to be neglected. The souls of lost men hang in the balance so you must play your role of reflecting His light with utmost seriousness.
Life is too important to be taken seriously. - Oscar Wilde
Although things do not look optimistic today—economic calamities, saber rattling, betrayal of allies—you have to recognize that nothing has really changed. As you are told in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” The same evil entity who has been about the scheme of undoing the work of God plods on with his evil intent; and the same Christ who has brought his mischief to nothing will still reign eternally. Those who believe are citizens of Heaven (Philippians 3:20) and their great hope is Jesus. Nothing has changed.
But the one great truth that covers both the destiny of men and nations, contrary to the words of Oscar Wilde, IS TOO IMPORTANT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY—“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” Hebrews 13:8. Your receipt of Him into your heart as Lord and Savior is the one event of life that can transform you eternally. Because of the Lord’s life, death, and resurrection, no man need taste death. Because He died in your place, and because, “In Him is life and the life is the light of men,” John 1:4, you need never walk in darkness.
Life, who you are in the inner man, who you are as a parent to your children, who you are in Christ, who you are eternally, is far more important than the impact of the ever-deepening darkness of the hearts of people who are governed by humanistic arrogance rather than by Christ-centered love (II Corinthians 4:16).
Just as your citizenship is not in fallen Earth but in Heaven, so your hope, your strength, you peace, your joy, your faith, your love are not in empty, broken, miserably-self-absorbed people but in the One Person who can transform the darkness of this world—whether political or personal—into light. Your hope, your light, is now, as it has ever been, in Jesus alone.
When you grasp that truth, you are truly free, truly happy—for you know every good thing you possess comes from His hand. You know that what HE gives transcends the ever ebbing and flowing fortunes of time. People, circumstances, governments can't give peace, hope, truth; and people, circumstances, governments can't take peace, hope, truth away. So continue to live your life for the Jesus who you profess to love and trust. Continue to strive to make your sphere of influence radiant with His light and to transform every life that touches yours with the power of His love.
You are His; you do His bidding in the darkness, hoping that His glory as it reflects from you will draw others who will allow themselves to love Him and allow His light to transform their gloom into His radiance. Eternal life is far too important to be neglected. The souls of lost men hang in the balance so you must play your role of reflecting His light with utmost seriousness.
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