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| The Lord Be Praised He is Raised |
Time with Jesus - Monday, 06 May 2013
Hi all,
This world and all who are in it
are on a one way trip to everlasting destruction! I’m not surprised by this statement.
Those who live in this world are not basically good. Humanism and the New Ager teach this error. They tell us that we are all good with the exception of a
number of miscreants. Some go as far as to say that we are all evolving into
god. We should begin to walk in our godhood now. Rationalism supports this
view. We are creatures of “super-intellect”. It promotes the idea that everything
should be judged by the concept, “Is it reasonable”? If the human mind cannot
conceive it, it cannot be true. Thus they reject anything that they “reason out”
as supernatural. Miracles are discounted because they are unreasonable. God
cannot possibly exist because their intellect says so. Everything is called
before the bar of human reason. If they cannot believe it, it must be wrong.
Anyone who believes in God is, at best, deluded or misguided; at worst, mad. It
follows that those who believe in God should be silenced or locked up in an asylum.
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| Not worried Speak out Boldly |
Christians are not worried by
this view. We believe in God. We trust in the power of the Holy Spirit. We also
believe in His Son Jesus Christ and say that He is our Lord. We say this openly
and unequivocally with words that come out of our mouths. We acknowledge that
Jesus Christ is alive. We believe that He died for our sins; that He was buried
and on the third days, God raised Him from the dead by the power of the Holy
Spirit.
According to Paul, these are the
two requirement by which we are “saved” from everlasting destruction. 9
Say with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord." Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
Then you will be saved. Rom 10:9 NIrV
It doesn’t sound very much does
it? The fact remains; many “Christians” don’t believe or treat Him as “Lord”. They
say, “That’s too demanding. I don’t mind believing
in Him but don’t expect me to do anything about it. That will disturb my
comfortable non-believing lifestyle”. But that’s what “saying with your mouth” means. We can teach a parrot
to say, “Jesus is Lord”. But the parrot is not saved. The words must be meaningful.
It’s a statement that comes from deep within you.
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| Believe in Your Heart |
It also means that the person
believes in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This is not optional. It’s
not a bumper sticker. It’s a qualification for being a Christian. If you don’t believe Jesus Christ was raised from the
dead you are not a Christian. You are someone who likes the Christian
lifestyle but refuses to take the step of faith needed to qualify him as a Christian.
Paul’s statement to the Romans is
not an optional extra you may choose to believe if you want. Not at all. If He
has not been raised from the dead He cannot be Lord. Likewise, if He is Lord,
He must have been raised from the dead.
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| Saved by Jesus |
Years ago there was a song that
went, “Love and marriage, go together like a horse and
carriage. Let me tell you brother, you can’t have one without the other.”
The same is true of believing in your heart and speaking with your mouth. If
you say you are a Christian, both must be true for you. You can’t have one
without the other.
Our meditation today looks at
the resurrection from the dead.
Shalom,
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
Time with Jesus – Monday,
06 May 2013
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©
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These devotionals are the intellectual
property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy
and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian
purposes
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©
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INTRODUCTION
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DAILY LIGHT EVENING
SCRIPTURES
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RAISED FROM THE DEAD
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The
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead separates the men from the boys,
or the women from the girls. What are we going to do with it? Is it fact or
fiction?
This
has been argued about for the past 2000 odd years. Believers like you and I
have no problem with it. We believe! We cannot establish this as a scientific
fact. God is the creator of everything. Thus science is the product of His
design. In a way it’s a bit like asking a computer to prove the existence of
its designer. It cannot. God could prove His existence very easily. A big TV
in the sky saying, “This is God Speaking!” would put the fear of God into the
hearts of countless thousands of people. One occasion where God spoke generally
to the people is recorded for us in John’s gospel: 27 "Now My soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray,
'Father, save Me from this hour'? But this is the very reason I came! 28
Father, bring glory to Your name." Then a
voice spoke from heaven, saying, "I have brought glory to My name, and I
will do so again." 29 When
the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared
an angel had spoken to Him. John 12:27-29
NLT On this occasion there are three reactions listed. 1) Some
believed. 2) Some said it thundered. 3) Some said an angel spoke to Him.
What
would happen today? In all probability there would be the same or a similar
reaction. The real question is, “What would be your and my reaction?”
We
cannot “prove” Christ was raised from the grave. Not directly. What we can
say is that lawyers who have studied the resurrection have declared that
there is more evidence that Jesus was raised from the grave than there is
evidence that Julius Caesar landed in the UK!
Please
note that His resurrection is a fact. You have a choice. The Lord leaves you
free to accept it or deny it. He will not interfere. It’s entirely your
choice. God refuses to stand before the bar of human reason. The facts are
there. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.
If
you believe it, you will find that the Scripture will become a source of
inspiration and guidance. If you don’t believe it, you are free to wander on
down your path of deception and unbelief. Man says, “If I see it I will
believe it”. God says, “If you believe it, you will see it”. It all boils
down to faith or unbelief. The writer to the Hebrews states, 6 It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God
must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those
who seek him. 6 Hebrews 11:6
MSG Do you have faith to believe Him? It’s up to you!
Jim & Phyllida
Strickland
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35 Some sceptic is
sure to ask, "Show me how resurrection
works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this 'resurrection
body' look like?"
1 Corinthians 15:35 MSG
2 But friends, that's exactly who we are: children of
God. And that's only the beginning. Who knows how we'll end up! What we know
is that when Christ is openly revealed, we'll see him--and in seeing him, become
like him.
1 John 3:2 MSG
49 As we have worn the likeness of the man who was made
from the dust of the earth, we will also wear the likeness of the man who
came from heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:49 GW
20 But we are
citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ
lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior. 21
He will take our weak mortal bodies and change
them into glorious bodies like His own, using the same power with which He
will bring everything under His control.
Philippians 3:20-21 NLT
36 And just as they were telling about it, Jesus Himself
was suddenly standing there among them. "Peace be with you," He
said. 37 But the whole group
was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost!
Luke 24:36-37 NLT
5 He appeared to Peter. Then he appeared to the Twelve.
6 After that, he appeared to more than 500
believers at the same time. Most of them are still living. But some
have died.
1 Corinthians 15:5-6 NIrV
11 It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the
alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life,
he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself?
When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in
Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you,
your body will be as alive as Christ's!
Romans 8:11 MSG
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There’s something totally unique in Christianity;
Something which the world at large thinks cannot ever be.
We speak of resurrection life; to them it makes no sense
And all those who believe it, are somewhat rather dense.
I can’t say that I blame them; it’s hard to understand,
But I can no more acquiesce to their absurd demand
Than fly into the heaven, on my own eagle wings!
It’s just about impossible to prove these very things.
Think for just a moment of that which you have seen.
Do you think without the Lord they ever could have been?
Wasn’t it impossible, in terms of what you know,
For it to ever come to pass if Jesus didn’t show?
Each one of us have been there at somewhere in our walk.
They’ve said, “You are an idiot! Don’t kid me
with that talk!
Prove it scientifically in the Laboratory
It you cannot do so, it’s pure psychology.
You’ve wanted it so badly your mind is telling lies.
Frankly it’s just nonsense wrapped up in a disguise,
Of personal delusion. Your Jesus is a crutch,
You use for self deception! It’s frankly Double Dutch.”
It’s words like this that hurt us. We can’t believe our ears.
Why can’t they believe it? God’s written Word is clear.
There isn’t an experiment to prove that He is fact.
There is no demonstration. By faith we have to act.
Seeing is believing, can never demonstrate,
The truth of God Almighty. Such folk will have to wait,
Until the Lord reveals to them the fact that He is true;
Believe it and you’ll see it! That’s what they need to do.
It’s like the resurrection. Put bulbs into the ground;
A bit of warmth and water. What happens will astound,
An honest unbeliever. A plant will soon appear
As different from the planted bulb, as lemonade to beer!
And as for resurrection, which he says is a lie.
The only way to prove it, is first we have to die.
We know that Jesus Christ our Lord has risen from the grave.
We know that He was different and that He could behave
In ways which are impossible for folk like me and you.
But if the Lord could do it, I’m sure we’ll do it too!
We’ll find it all together the moment he returns.
We’ll all be raised together. For this, my spirit yearns.
We know we will be like Him! He said that it is true.
That’s what He said He’ll do for me. Will He do it for you?
Jim Strickland
Written 6th May 2012
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