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Monthly Archives: April 2012

He is Alive? He is Alive INDEED!

08 Apr

He is Alive? He is Alive INDEED!

Mark 16:4-6   But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away–for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here.

He is Alive? He is Alive Indeed! The women had went to the tomb, only to find Christ gone, and an angel there. They were terrified as the angel told them of His rising from the dead. Christ appeared to Mary Magdalene, and later the two disciples on the road, and they gathered and told of their experiences, but the hearers had much doubt. Luke 24:33-34   So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” The gospels are full of Christ’s appearances after the grave prior to His final ascension. The last words Christ spoke to them was called  The Great Commission found in Matthew28:18-20.  The gospel of Mark summarizes it in Mark 16: 15-16  And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  Then He ascended to sit on the right hand of the throne of God. Luke 24:51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.

So what does it mean to you? It is the culmination of the entire Old and New Testament fulfilling of the scriptures for  God’s plan for the redemption of the human race from sin. It enables you to spend eternity at the feet of God, and not the pit of hell.  Life is a choice of placing your hope in worldly means that will perish; or in eternal things of Christ that mean paradise forever after your time here. Once you begin to humble yourself and repent of your sins asking for forgiveness, you take on a new Spirit that lives inside you that brings a new outlook on life. This ultimate sacrifice enabled the Holy Spirit to live in you as a gift from God. The Spirit is called the Enabler, for He opens the doors for you to understand the scriptures and the things of God. All this came as a result of Christ dying on the cross paying the price for sin, rising from the dead. and ascending into heaven. You can have all He has offered by just asking for the free ticket, for He has already paid it all for you.

He came, He died, He arose, He ascended, He is coming back. Thank you Jesus!

 
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Posted by on April 8, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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The day between

07 Apr

The day between.

 
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Posted by on April 7, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

The day between

07 Apr

This morning I have been seeking answers on this day between Christ’s death and Resurrection. The shock of His death has left those followers in disbelief and great sorrow. They are in wonder of what is next. They are even about to return to their old jobs and go back to life as they knew it before Christ. They feel like life is over. The hours and days following death are traumatic

The day between

Mark 15:42-43 Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,  Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

They day between death and Resurrection. Christ is in the grave. Joseph of Arimathea had gotten the nerve to go before Pilate and ask for the body of Christ. Courage is doing what you must do even when you fear the consequences. Joseph was held in high regard, but may have feared what could have been said or done by him placing honor on the dead Christ. Matthew Henry spoke of him saying, “Those who wait for the kingdom of God, and hope for an interest in the privileges of it, must show it by their forwardness to own Christ’s cause and interest, even then when it seems to be crushed and run down.” Joseph put his great faith before anything man could do to him and honored God. This even as all Christ’s disciples had abandoned him over the last hours of His life. God raised up Joseph to honor His Son.

1 John 2:12 I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. Most of us have lost someone close, and in those first hours and days questions fill our minds of the why’s and where they are now that they have left their earthly body. Most all of Christ’s followers were in disbelief of the events that had taken place and were in great sorrow. They were gathering together and trying to understand the events. Questions filled their minds. When we loose someone now to death, Christ has brought us the possibility of the understanding the answers to many of these questions. This price He paid on the Cross for our sin, gives us the assurance of passing into heaven with Him, and can remove much of the sorrow and doubt we feel if those we loose are Saved. Hebrews 6:11-12 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Rest in the assurance of the promise of this day between.

 
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Posted by on April 7, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Snatched from the fire

06 Apr

Snatched from the fire.

 
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Posted by on April 6, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Snatched from the fire

06 Apr

This morning I have been spending time in the four gospels reading the accounts of the last days of Christ. Each author telling his story of betrayal, trials, and Crucifixion. It stirs my soul and I cannot grasp the selflessness of Christ, and the understanding of His fathers Will, even to the point of asking if there was any other way. The weight of what He bore for us is impossible for us to understand for even the heavens were blackened for hours. The weight of sin bore down on one Man for eternity….wow. I could not help but feel led to gratitude for what He did for me. How can we not do all we can for Him, when we realize what He did for us? My hope is that you respond to the weight you may feel this Easter in the realization of the events. That the stirring inside you provokes a response and movement towards a change in your relationship with your Savior. May you respond to that gut feeling inside you as never before, for it is never too late, until it is.

 

Snatched from the fire

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

Over 2000 years ago today represented a mark in history that forever changed eternity like none other. The mark in which lives are given the ability to pass into eternal paradise, or hell if they choose to deny Christ. Before the day of the ultimate sacrifice we all would have died in sin. Today Christ has paid the price for all of us that we cannot pay through any good deed and earn our way into heaven. Hebrews 12:2 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. Today we should be draw to rejoice and humble, grateful thanksgiving for what was given for us.

If you were asleep with your home on fire, and someone rescued you from sure death, you would naturally forever feel gratitude and obligation to them for giving you life. You have been asleep in sin, and Christ rescued you from your sin, providing you a path from eternal fire. Isn’t it natural once you realize that to feel obligated to Him? 1 Corinthians 6:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. The realization of what Easter brings is humbling and should draw out from you a spirit of gratitude of what Christ did even for those who hated Him. I cannot fathom sacrificing my sons for anybody, much less to a world that hated me. That is a depth of love from a God of love that should stir your soul. Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Let the weight of what Easter represents press on you, and let the Spirit stir you to begin His work in you for living your life as a sacrifice to Christ, whom paid the ultimate sacrifice for you. Thank you Jesus.

 
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Posted by on April 6, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Speaking out

05 Apr

Speaking out

Luke 22:15-16   And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”

It is your last day; what would you do? Would you think only of yourself and all the things you had not done, or would you think of those you were leaving behind? Hopefully selfishness would abandon and you would seek to spend time with those closest to you reflecting and encouraging them. Christ had entered Jerusalem and was having His last meal with those closest to Him. He was speaking words of encouragement that would last a lifetime and mold them into what God had planned for their lives. His Last Supper was a model of a servant’s heart, and an example of how they were to conduct themselves. What words would you share to last a lifetime for those closest to you in your last days? Christ places in you the ability to share those impacting words that will last someone their lifetime through the Holy Spirit.

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. Christ came and died to rescue us all from eternal punishment of our sin. When He died on the cross, arose and returned to Heaven, He provided us a way through Salvation the greatest gift; to dwell inside us as believers in Him. The Holy Spirit is the heartbeat of Christ living inside you, and you can be the encouraging words of Christ to someone near you in what may be unknowingly their last days. Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. If you proclaim Christ, share Christ, and live the day as if it is your last leading others to Him for the joy they may possess. He heart is beating inside you directing you to share Him with those around you so that all the world may hear. This Holy week brings about ears that are inclined to hear, but how will they hear if you silence His heartbeat inside of you? Share Him with someone near you today to encourage them for eternity.

 
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Posted by on April 5, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Yes that is God stirring this week

04 Apr

Yes that is God stirring this week.

 
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Posted by on April 4, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Yes that is God stirring this week

04 Apr

Yes that is God stirring this week

Romans 10:8-9    But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Before Christ I was living a life so full of sin I am ashamed. I don’t believe in glorifying the sin, but in my typical fashion I even sinned to the greatest of my ability too. But somewhere along the way God began to stir my heart and I began to listen. Then I began to respond and things started to change, and the conviction of those sins bared down on me with a weight I was ready to release. Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.  I did not want to walk in the middle of the road, I wanted to fully commit my life to Christ, and I prayed for Him to take my sins and guide me to fully following Him with all my might. I cannot accurately pen the indescribable difference that Christ has made inside me, but everything I have is available to you too.

This Holy week celebrating our Risen Lord stirs the hearts of many of you which may spur you into going to church. No other religion in the world celebrates a Risen King which separates Christianity from all others. Romans 8:34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. There is nothing that you have done that you cannot be forgiven for by One whom conquered death and presented life eternally. He is praying for you and submitting His prayers to God His Father on your behalf in hope that you will recognize your sin and allow Him to rescue you from an eternal punishment. No good deeds will ever rescue you from paying the price tag with pride of believing you can attain what is unattainable without Him.

Let God stir in your heart this week and respond to that invitation. Humble yourself before Him, repent and know there is eternal forgiveness, and let Him into your heart. You will attain a peace and a new outlook in life in a world that is far from God. Acts 3:19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.

 
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Posted by on April 4, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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BFF

03 Apr

BFF.

 
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Posted by on April 3, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

BFF

03 Apr

BFF

John 15:13-15 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

His friend….really? How do we move from humbling ourselves before Him, to becoming what He would call a friend. Christ was speaking to the apostles here in John and encouraging them from how their relationship has grown. We cannot call someone a friend that we have had one chance meeting, maybe at a time of despair, and then never spoke again. Friendships are really cultivated relationships that develop and grow together. Friendships are highly valued to us by the way God wired us at creation, and no other friendship should carry the value that Christ does. He is the only One who can truly promise to be our BFF (Best Friend Forever). After our first meeting with Him upon Salvation, how do we grow into becoming friends of Christ? It is through time with Him just as in any relationship, and becoming intimidators of Him, to live as He lived.  Ephesians 5:1-2 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

It is a fact that those we spend the most time with, we begin to resemble. They rub off on us, and unknowingly we become more like them in how we conduct ourselves. When we begin to seek God, and the things of Christ, we begin to spill out the love of Christ in our thoughts and actions. God is a God of love and Christ set the example of love through his humble servant heart for us to follow. John 13:15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.   We begin to think and speak differently for we begin to see things as Christ sees them through the eyes of God’s plans for redemption, and the sacrifices He made for us. A peace comes over our lives and we seek to do the Will of God in our lives to follow His plan and play a small part. Matthew 12:50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” To become a friend of Christ, you must first humble yourself and accept Him into your heart for eternity. At that point, for eternity, you can begin to develop your friendship with the Creator and Savior of the universe of whom all blessings flow.

 
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Posted by on April 3, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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