Category: Jesus Christ

The resurrection and the life

Easter Sunday is a day that we enjoy hearing about the resurrection. We enjoy the story of Jesus’ resurrection as well as others whom he saved from death. This power is always an attention grabber because it goes far beyond our human abilities.

Jesus made this statement to Martha in the Gospel of St. John: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live”. I know, at face value the statement doesn’t make sense. Give Martha a break because we know the rest of the story, but she lived it. She saw her brother wake up from the “death sleep” and walk among them as if nothing happened. We don’t read where Lazarus laments about being dead or that the experience was even horrible. He just takes his place among the living. I’m sure he was thankful for what happened. The question I have is that if you die once like Lazarus and you get a second chance, are you afraid of the death the second time?

I mean the fear of death has to not bother you as much. For those who survived Hurricane Katrina a few years back, would they be as worried about the next big hurricane? If you have been shot before should the sound of gunfire bother you as much? If you were about to walk away from a deadly car crash, should you be afraid to drive a car or ride in a car again?

I want to attempt to crack open this scripture for everyone to have a better taste of its fruit. If Jesus is the resurrection and the life (and he is), then this ability would work on everything, not just death. This understanding was given to us under the death category, but I contend that this verse is more like the master key — it fits every lock!

So, If I lose my job, I am dead to the job that I lost and I can surrender this dead to the resurrection and the life (A.K.A Jesus Christ) and he will raise up (resurrect) a new job for me that I may dwell (live) in. If I lose my marriage, home, money, self respect, or mind, the Jesus who resurrects will replace the old with something new for me. You see, it was difficult for Mary, Martha and the others to fully understand the power of the resurrection. We struggle with it today as well.

Let’s not limit the resurrection and life to just a wonderful biblical story. Let’s not limit God’s power to only the measure we understand. Let’s surrender everything in our lives that is dead and allow him to breathe life into it again because he truly is the resurrection and the life.

April 20, 2014
Are you a true friend?

It is very difficult these days to find true friends.

I’m not talking about just a drinking buddy or someone who you can tell your problems to. I’m not talking about the people who support you or will lie for you or who loan you money.

I’m talking about a person who makes you better. The friend I’m talking about keeps you honest, is strong where you are weak and would defend you with his life. You can have a really bad argument with a true friend and get up and go to dinner afterwards.

With a true friend you can look at each other and just know. You just know that unconditional love is there, support is there and compassion. This friend has no problem speaking the truth in love to you and you know if you want their support, you’d better come correct!

This type of friend may wear other hats in your life. They could be your dad or mom, your minister or a spouse.

In Proverbs 27:17 the bible says that as iron sharpens iron, one person sharpens another.

The constant scraping of knives together will sharpen each one for the better. Never can you have the scraping without benefit.

A true friend is made of iron and they will be there no matter what. We serve a God that sticks closer to us than a brother! A true friend whom you can cast your cares upon because he cares.

Do you have a friend like this? Are you this type of friend?

March 1, 2014
Why do you worship God?

Worshipping is woven into the fabric of our very being. Without instruction we will worship anything. Some are worshipping people, animals and things.

It’s not hard to understand exactly why we were given the intellect and the ability to worship. Worship is paying homage to a worthy object of affection. It is an expression of the gratitude we feel for that object based on our understanding.

God, then, would be worshipped because of what we understand about him. Our father’s grace, mercy, longsuffering, love, faithfulness and forgiveness are just a few things in a long list of attributes that should stimulate our desire to show our gratitude and worship him.

True worship, then, would be worshipping God in spirit (that’s your spirit) and in truth (the revealed understanding of who he is). I can attempt to worship God in my flesh. This is when I respond to God based on my senses. So if it stimulates me, I will use it to worship him. Worship before Christ was done this way. There were things to touch, taste, smell, hear and see in worship. The burnt offerings, use of incense and the shewbread were all a part of the ceremonial worship. I can also attempt to worship him mentally which would be based on my own understanding — it will appear zealous, but not according to knowledge. I can attempt to worship him based on my emotions. The philosophy is that it makes me feel good so it should make God feel good.

Today, God calls us to a much higher worship. One that requires the use of my intellect and understanding of who he is. It requires the submission of the heart of the person worshipping and the sole use of things God created and nothing we created with our own hands.

God now wants the sacrifice of praise, which the bible defines as the fruit of our lips praising him. Christ left us a feast to participate in and unconditional love is to be shared throughout. God wants us to have a consuming worship that pays homage to him and stimulates his love between us. It is also the start of a week that should be filled with the true worshippers offering themselves as a living sacrifice for him all week until we are united again together on the first day of the week. We are the lively stones that come together to form a spiritual house where he joins us.

Simple, natural and authorized. God should dictate how you worship if your worship is about honoring him. The father is seeking such to worship him — now what about your worship?

January 11, 2014
A healthy portion of love and forgiveness

God specializes in doing things for us that we cannot do for ourselves. If you have built a relationship with God through faith in Christ Jesus, then you know that feeling of helplessness and the devastation when you feel the brunt of your undone condition. Since Christ was resurrected from the dead, many have looked to him to fix their relationship with the father.

Today we have a unique opportunity to do something for someone else that they could not have done for themselves. I’m speaking beyond a tall person helping a short person reach something on a high shelf. Or a younger person running errands for a much older person. Or even a mother taking care of her child. Although these fit the basics of this thought, we should focus our attention on the weightier matters.

There are people who are in a position that makes it impossible for them to love themselves. They live with guilt and shame and don’t feel worthy. They need someone to love them. There are people who have wronged others and it is impossible for them to grant forgiveness for themselves. They need to be forgiven.

In a country where we take pride in things like revenge, winning and wealth, wouldn’t it be nice if at the end of each year it was mandatory that we would love or forgive? And wouldn’t it be cool if there were strict laws and people could actually go to jail for not loving or forgiving?

The Apostle John wrote: “beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He that loves not knows not God; for God is love.”

And Jesus himself said, … by this will all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another. And if you read Matt. 18:23-35, there is a shocking revelation by Jesus in regards to how the father feels about forgiveness. We only need to remember what he has done for us and reciprocate.

September 28, 2013
Living with honor

Honor is like a little battery placed on your shoulder that has to stay there as you walk. And then while you’re walking, someone is constantly trying to knock it off.

Or honor is like a glass of water filled to the brim and someone is trying to get you to spill it.

Whatever the case, as Christians we are challenged daily and judged by a world which is against us. To be the light in a dark place is not an easy task, but it is the challenge give by the savior. He said to let our lights so shine that others would see our good works and glorify our father in heaven. That sounds easy enough, but have you ever really tried it?

The Christian must act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God and positive effects are inevitable. We must live our lives with honor remembering that we are citizens of another place and this place we live in is temporal.

So live with honor that others will find the path. Live with honor to make your calling and election sure. And live with honor so that God will honor you in the end.

September 14, 2013
How we are saved

Have you ever wondered exactly how the gospel saves? I mean we say it all the time and it is a staple in Christian circles. However, is the “how” ever addressed? We definitely get the “who” the “what” and the “where”, but it seems the “how” is the black sheep of this family.

Well, please allow me to share the “how” and open your heart to the rightly-divided word. The facts of the gospel are contained in 1 Cor. 15:1-4. Paul writes that Jesus died according to the scriptures and he was buried and he rose on the third day according to the scriptures. So the death, burial and resurrection are the simple facts.

In Romans 5:10, Paul says that in His death we were reconciled back to God. With Jesus’ death we have a new relationship with God. The bible says that we are but filthy rags before him. The blood of Jesus reconnects us. This is the soul purpose of his death — that those who die with Him get the benefit of being united with God.

The resurrection is this new life that we, who believe, live in. Rom. 5:10 says that we are “saved” by His life. How? You see, for those who are in Christ, it is His life that we walk in, not our own. His life is the light. And that life is the light of men (John 1:4). And if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ His son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). So there is only light and darkness. We walk in the light by faith. We have been called to walk by faith, not live perfect lives. As a child of God who has been reconciled to God and saved by His life, I have eternal security as long as I “walk by faith” (a.k.a. Stay in the light).

The death and resurrection are tied together by the burial just like our reconciliation and life in Christ are tied together by baptism. Rom. 6:4 says, “we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

This makes baptism as essential to salvation as the burial is to the gospel. No wonder Jesus said, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved …”(Mark 16:16).

I hope that I have brought clarity to this topic and please don’t hesitate to comment on this blog with questions.

In Christian love,

Clyde

June 15, 2013
Yes, no and not now (Part 3 of 3)

So you want your prayers to be in step with the will of God do you? I don’t blame you, too often we ask God as a last resort and we’re still struggling with what things we should pray for.

Remember, prayer is designed to be a comfort to us. It’s like being able to talk to the king of the land and having favor with him. It’s a privilege to be in a covenant relationship where he has requested that when you’re going through rough times you talk to him about it.

Prayer is not a wishing well or a Jeanie in a bottle. It is not a set up where if God likes you, he will give you what you ask. Prayer is not a way to gain material things that we want and it is vain to pray for things God has already granted.

For example, for you to pray to God because some poor person needs food and you already have a house full of food is vain. God doesn’t expect you to rid the world of hunger. He just expects you to take care of the situations you know about. I have a family and let’s say I lose my job. God knows what I need before I ask. Well in a covenant relationship, I need to thank him for the job I know he has purposed for me. Why? Because the Bible says if a man does not work, he doesn’t eat. And a man that doesn’t take care of his family is less than an infidel. So, I can be assured that God has prepared a way for me to take care of the family he gave me so no panicking! Just simply be relentless in search of that job because faith tells you it’s there.

When someone is deathly ill and we pray for them, our prayer should be one that is honest, vulnerable and direct. There is no way to know if it is time for the sick person to die. All we know is that death is common to man and therefore all must die. My prayer would be to let God know how I feel and then let him know that I trust his decision and that he knows best. There is nothing wrong with asking God to heal someone, what makes it bad is when God has revealed his will and we don’t accept it.

God is still GOD when things turn bad, when death visits our house and when we are at our lowest point. He still works things out for our betterment. If we really understand this, then all of our prayers will be of faith. And remember faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

June 8, 2013
Yes, no and not now (Part 2 of 3)

Father knows best was the title of a popular sitcom during the early stages of television and in that program (which was before my time) attempted to show real life family problems that daddy was able to solve. Well, this second edition ponders the question of who knows more — God or us? You would think that the answer to this question would be easy. In word it is, but in deed it is contradictory.

Everyone would say that God knows more than they do. No one sane would ever challenge God to a knowledge contest. We would argue another person down regarding how awesome our God is. We would not allow anyone to degrade our God, we would be offended if someone mocked our God and we definitely don’t want anyone to discredit the existence of our God. Yet, all on our own, we will second guess where God is in a crisis. We tend to allow doubt to enter into our minds when trouble comes. We still believe that we have some significant contribution to whatever is going on. We have a horrible sense of importance, meaning we value our own opinions sometimes more than God’s truth.

Psalm 50:12 records God saying, “If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof.” This scripture makes me laugh because we are so out of the loop when it comes to God. We only know what he allows us to know. Scientist only discover what God decides they can discover. I wouldn’t know what kind of food to give God and I really wouldn’t know how to get it to him. I am helpless. I can’t even save myself.

How many more things does God have to do for us to prove he is God? What else is needed to convince our minds to trust him? Why are we still making God prove himself? Our prayers should be prayers of faith. We should be praying to God understanding who we are praying to and what we are praying for. James wrote that we have not because we ask not. Then he said when we ask, we ask amiss. We must pray God’s will. But how do we know God’s will you ask? I will discuss this next week.

June 1, 2013
Yes, no or not now (Part 1 of 3)

Have you ever wondered how God decides to answer prayer? It is difficult for us to understand how God would respond to us as we know it is written that God’s ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. But certainly we can understand what God’s word has to say about prayer to the almighty and understanding that God is sovereign.

Sovereign speaks of God’s supremacy, his kingship and his Godhead. To say he is sovereign is to declare his majesty and that he is the Most High. His sovereignty states that he is exactly what Paul called him in 1 Tim. 6:15 — that he is the only Potentate, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. So God has the power then to decide to answer our prayers, deny them or delay them. And we trust him to do such…or we should.

To pray to God is to trust God. To make your request known to him is to acknowledge him as the giver of all things and believe that he will respond in the best interest of his children. Our problem is deciding whether God is saying yes, no or not now to us. The first step in understanding this process is to know you are praying in God’s will. You can only know God’s will by studying his word. God’s word tells me that his intervention is greatly needed in this world. It let’s me know that God’s will is far better than the will of man and that salvation belongs only to the one who gave it. So TRUST is the first ingredient in understanding God’s answer.

There is a familiar gospel song entitled Trust and Obey which was written by John H. Sammis who was a Presbyterian minister. It says, “When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, What a glory He sheds on our way! While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey. Trust and Obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

Are you willing dear reader to trust God and allow His will to be done? Next week we will discuss the silence of God when it comes to answering our prayers.

May 26, 2013
Does your life put Christ in a place of honor?

Honor is a funny thing in our society. Normally it is given to those who have earned it. It was never designed to be given simply due to a title — it was something to be acquired.

We honor judges, politicians, clergy, successful businessman and public officials all because of the service they give. We honor fathers and mothers mostly because the bible tells us so and we even honor our spouses — sometimes whether they deserve it or not. Teachers are honored, seniors are honored and even a person who has done a good deed can get our honor.

Honor is a good name or public reputation. It’s a showing of usually respect:recognition. A privilege. One who’s worth brings respect or fame. Credit. So now chew on this:

Romans 5:10 says, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

We know that Christ died, “while we were sinners” and “while we were without strength”. His death, burial and resurrection which are the very facts of his gospel had a profound effect on our place of honor on judgement day.

You see, his death (shedding of his blood) cleansed our sins and made reconciliation possible. For now God can begin a new relationship with us because of that death. His burial was just as important as it serves as the launch pad for resurrection. You have to have a death and burial or else there is no need for a resurrection. Baptism serves as our burial (launch pad) today as anyone who believes on Jesus and is baptized shall receive a resurrection.

Romans 6:4 says, “therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life.”

The last part is the resurrection or newness of life. Jesus’ life is what actually saves us (re: Romans 5:10). We are baptized into his death and are resurrected into his life. So that when God judges me, it will be on the merits of Christ’s life and not my own. His life was perfect and my life will be his. This is what is meant in Gal. 2:20 when it says “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, not I, but Christ lives in me.” Gee, I wonder how that happened?

So, I have been placed in a position of honor by God and I am now to live a life worthy of the honor I have been given. I have been accepted in the beloved and because of grace that is where I shall stay. The life that I now live in the flesh is a life lived by faith in the son of God who has loved me and gave himself for me!

If I really understand this, then my life must honor his gospel. If I am to take my place in glory it will only be because I demonstrated my understanding of what Christ did for me by my life. There is no greater honor than this.

May 4, 2013