"but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel" (II Timothy 1:10).
Through sin came death. By the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, death has been abolished. To abolish means to deprive of force, influence, or power, to render inactive or inoperative. Hallelujah! Jesus is alive and death is abolished!
I love it! Death, man's great enemy rendered inoperative by the Gospel of Jesus, what Easter joy! Without Christ, death ought to be feared. The world pictures death as a threatening figure in a black robe with skeleton hands holding a sickle, looking to harvest souls away from life. With Christ, everything changes, especially death. Matthew Henry described death as 'a kindly messenger coming to bid us to the Father'.
Have you received salvation in Jesus? Could there be a better day to receive eternal life than Resurrection Sunday? Why not bend your knee to His Lordship today? Happy Easter...Jesus is risen...death is abolished!
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
Honoring Our King
"And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified."
Jesus was mocked the day of His crucifixion, he was laughed at spat upon and scorned. The mocking of Jesus didn't stop on Good Friday, sadly it has continued even to this current generation.
The very sins that Jesus died for are today encouraged and openly paraded about. To speak out against these sins is considered legalistic or even hateful. Christians today are pressured into the false notion that to love the sinner is to accept their sin. It is unfortunate that much of the church has bought into this notion, believing it reflects love and grace, when in fact true love warns of sin, and acceptance of sin mocks the cross of Christ.
The cross was ugly, brutal, and fatal, because sin is ugly, brutal, and fatal. Our message of love to the world is to turn from the death of sin, to life in Christ. May our lives honor Jesus in the midst of a mocking world, as we stand for His truth.
Jesus was mocked the day of His crucifixion, he was laughed at spat upon and scorned. The mocking of Jesus didn't stop on Good Friday, sadly it has continued even to this current generation.
The very sins that Jesus died for are today encouraged and openly paraded about. To speak out against these sins is considered legalistic or even hateful. Christians today are pressured into the false notion that to love the sinner is to accept their sin. It is unfortunate that much of the church has bought into this notion, believing it reflects love and grace, when in fact true love warns of sin, and acceptance of sin mocks the cross of Christ.
The cross was ugly, brutal, and fatal, because sin is ugly, brutal, and fatal. Our message of love to the world is to turn from the death of sin, to life in Christ. May our lives honor Jesus in the midst of a mocking world, as we stand for His truth.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Thinking Of You
"....and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered." Psalm 40:5
The thought of someone thinking about you all the time could be good or bad, it could be really sweet or kind of creepy. If your spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend told you that they thought of you all the time, I'm sure you'd smile and feel warm and fuzzy. If someone you didn't know, or hardly knew, told you they thought about you all the time, I doubt you'd smile and most likely you'd be scared.
Of course the difference in how you might feel about someone thinking about you, would depend on who they are, and how well you know them.
In Psalm 40, David says that he can't even number the thoughts that God has about him, and it doesn't creep him out, in fact it brings him encouragement and comfort. There might be some who would panic in knowing that God was thinking about them all the time, but David rejoices in such knowledge. It speaks of the type of relationship he had with the Lord and how well he knew his God.
I'm with David, I love the fact that the Lord thinks about me all the time. I know Him, and in the cross He has proven His love for me, so I'm totally blessed that He thinks about me all the time.
In this rough and tumble world where we get bruised and battered, it's easy to feel forgotten. That is why it's important to stop and remember how much the Lord loves you. I doubt there are refrigerators in heaven, but if there were refrigerators in heaven, God would have one, and picture of you would be on it! He really does think about you all the time, and oh how much He loves you.
The thought of someone thinking about you all the time could be good or bad, it could be really sweet or kind of creepy. If your spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend told you that they thought of you all the time, I'm sure you'd smile and feel warm and fuzzy. If someone you didn't know, or hardly knew, told you they thought about you all the time, I doubt you'd smile and most likely you'd be scared.
Of course the difference in how you might feel about someone thinking about you, would depend on who they are, and how well you know them.
In Psalm 40, David says that he can't even number the thoughts that God has about him, and it doesn't creep him out, in fact it brings him encouragement and comfort. There might be some who would panic in knowing that God was thinking about them all the time, but David rejoices in such knowledge. It speaks of the type of relationship he had with the Lord and how well he knew his God.
I'm with David, I love the fact that the Lord thinks about me all the time. I know Him, and in the cross He has proven His love for me, so I'm totally blessed that He thinks about me all the time.
In this rough and tumble world where we get bruised and battered, it's easy to feel forgotten. That is why it's important to stop and remember how much the Lord loves you. I doubt there are refrigerators in heaven, but if there were refrigerators in heaven, God would have one, and picture of you would be on it! He really does think about you all the time, and oh how much He loves you.
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