Resurrection: Our New Body 2 Corinthians 5:1-10
What a scene will occur at the sounding of the Lord's trumpet! The "dead in Christ" will emerge from their resting places all over the earth and soar into the sky; these saints' resurrected bodies will reunite with their spirits, which will have been residing in heaven with Jesus. Close behind them will follow believers who haven't yet departed this life-at that moment, they'll miraculously be changed as they are "caught up . . . to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
The description sounds extraordinary, but in fact, the plan is practical. We're going to need a body with which to enjoy the new heaven and new earth that Jesus is preparing for His followers. However, earthly flesh and bones will not do. They age, break, and succumb to sin. So God promised to transform our humble structures into glorious bodies like the one Christ had after His resurrection. Common temptations and limitations will be gone. In addition, our physical substance will be altered so that we are not restricted by time and space. Remember, Jesus didn't bother with doors (John 20:19)! Our new bodies will be suited for the environment where we are to dwell forever-an ageless eternity in which all of our needs are perfectly met.
Each believer will still be him- or herself. Friends and family long separated will recognize one another; our personalities will be unchanged, except that we'll be absolutely sinless. At last, you and I will be the persons that God intends for us to be. And we'll be housed in a body fashioned like that of Christ-perfect, sinless, and complete.
What a scene will occur at the sounding of the Lord's trumpet! The "dead in Christ" will emerge from their resting places all over the earth and soar into the sky; these saints' resurrected bodies will reunite with their spirits, which will have been residing in heaven with Jesus. Close behind them will follow believers who haven't yet departed this life-at that moment, they'll miraculously be changed as they are "caught up . . . to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
The description sounds extraordinary, but in fact, the plan is practical. We're going to need a body with which to enjoy the new heaven and new earth that Jesus is preparing for His followers. However, earthly flesh and bones will not do. They age, break, and succumb to sin. So God promised to transform our humble structures into glorious bodies like the one Christ had after His resurrection. Common temptations and limitations will be gone. In addition, our physical substance will be altered so that we are not restricted by time and space. Remember, Jesus didn't bother with doors (John 20:19)! Our new bodies will be suited for the environment where we are to dwell forever-an ageless eternity in which all of our needs are perfectly met.
Each believer will still be him- or herself. Friends and family long separated will recognize one another; our personalities will be unchanged, except that we'll be absolutely sinless. At last, you and I will be the persons that God intends for us to be. And we'll be housed in a body fashioned like that of Christ-perfect, sinless, and complete.
"Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You." Psalm 139:12 (NASB)
"Mama, the world seems like a very scary place, and it makes me feel insecure and powerless. I'm afraid I'll be so lonely without friends and family to face the difficulties ahead."
Joy, my daughter, a senior in college, was leaving the next day for a semester of study in Oxford, England. Yet the day we were packing, ISIS had just killed the second of two American journalists. Friends sent messages to Joy wondering if she had seen the news.
"England will be the next target, and that might start war while you are there," one of her friends texted. With devastating, disastrous world news including earthquakes, war, immorality amongst Christian leaders . as a young woman, Joy understandably felt overwhelmed.
Late into the night, we zipped her last suitcase. We were both exhausted from the adrenalin of getting all the details in place for her flight the next day, but she pleaded "Can we have one last time together out on the grass, under the stars? I need some peace before I go to bed."
I knew her fears were still there, so I whispered, "Yes, my sweets! We will make one more memory together before you go."
As was our habit, we took some soft, old blankets out to our front yard, under the tall pines, and lay next to each other shoulder to shoulder on the grass. The cold Colorado mountain air blew gently across our faces, and the aspen leaves in the distance swished and danced. A dog barked in the distance, but otherwise, the night whispered clear and quiet.
We gazed into the sky and silently shared the moment. Stars filled the navy blue landscape and sparkled as though just for us. We breathed out life's clutter and fears of the day and inhaled the peacefulness of the grandeur above.
"Mama, when I look at what God has done, and keep my eyes on Him, it seems like my fears are melting away," she whispered and snuggled closer.
God's own voice seemed to speak to my heart as I answered:
"Joy, this vast display of stars has been held in place by the sure, strong hands of God for thousands of years, through wars, tragedies, sadness and disasters of every kind. Not one year of our history has shaken the power or control of God."
"As I lived through years of sleepless nights when you were gasping for breath with asthma, through car wrecks, financial disasters, the tragedies of our friends, I can look back and see the constant faithfulness of God, every day, every year.
"Our God who created this beauty for us to behold, who has shown His power through the calm night skies is the one who will be with you every step of your journey ahead.
"He will fill you with the Spirit who threw the night sky into place, so that you will know His companionship, love, beauty and wisdom each step in your journey. Remember what He told Joshua when he was afraid: 'Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go' (Joshua 1:9, NASB).
"Joy, God prepared a story of faith for you to live. Many in Oxford long to know His love that you will bring. Others who look for meaning will need the messages of His truth that are stored in your soul. Beauty will be strewn across your path so you can observe His fingerprints.
"Your hope and faith are needed by those who are filled with despair in these dark times. If you embrace the days ahead that He has prepared for you, your time in Oxford will be a purposeful time, no matter what the days hold. Wherever you go, you will bring His light and love.
"But remember, Joy, you will always have a choice to make.
"If you look at the darkness and fear of the news of the day, you will grow dark in your soul.
"Look to God. Choose to trust Him with your days. Live in His reality.
"Don't look at fear, just keep the memory of this night, His power and beauty always in your thoughts - and you will find courage and hope that you need every day. The God who holds the stars holds you."
Heavenly Father, let us keep our gaze upon You and rest in Your ability to carry us through all of our fears, through all of our days. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
"God sent His only Son into the world so that we could find true life through Him. This is the embodiment of true love: not that we have loved God first, but that He loved us and sent His unique Son on a special mission to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:9b-10 (VOICE)
The first time I danced with my husband my nose came up to his armpit. We were swaying straight-armed beneath the disco ball at our eighth grade graduation party, and I joked about how I hoped he'd used plenty of deodorant that day. His face turned crimson, the red rising from his neck, as he solemnly promised that he was protected with a double-dose.
I'd stood on my tiptoes in an effort to shrink the gap, but even with my hair ratted and sprayed as high as an '80s girl could manage, that boy loomed tall above me.
Of course, I had no idea I was dancing with my future husband that night in the junior high gym. I never would have guessed that six years later we'd trade the sheen of a disco ball for the gleam of rings and pledge to love one another 'til death do us part.
Though we were no longer gangly teens on our wedding day, my groom still towered 10 inches above me. But I wasn't bothered by my armpit view on that special day; I'd set my sights on the heights of love.
I'd given my husband a hand-written letter just hours before I'd walked down the aisle, the words scrawled across the page capturing my hopes for the future: "No matter what life sends our way, our love will always stand tall ."
It was a poetic line, not unlike one you might find on a Valentine's card this month. But after 21 years of marriage, I've come to believe my sentiments were wrong.
Love is, indeed, a sacred and lofty gift, but two decades of loving and learning has taught me that the mark of true love isn't height, it's humility. True love doesn't stand tall; it bends low.
As we see in today's key verse, God sent Jesus to demonstrate how true love is sacrificial at its core.
True love stoops to pick up the trash bag sitting near the kitchen door and crouches to look a sullen child in the eye.
True love bows to change diapers and to shovel snow, to deliver goodnight kisses and offer hugs.
True love bends over the dishwasher and over the sick child. True love hovers over the hurting and kneels quietly in prayer.
True love chooses to be righteous instead of right, servant instead of master, humble instead of haughty.
Let's be honest, true love isn't headline news. It's not greeting card verse. It's not blockbuster buzz. True love is Heaven's hope, as we see in 1 John 4:10: "This is the embodiment of true love: not that we have loved God first, but that He loved us and sent His unique Son on a special mission to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
God didn't declare His love for us with a bouquet of red roses. He didn't wrap up a box of fine chocolates or a flowery card. Instead, God wrapped His only Son in wrinkled flesh and proclaimed His undying love on Calvary's cross.
It's crazy when you think about it, the way the truest love of all stooped the lowest - so we might know the summit of His glorious love.
I didn't realize it as a starry-eyed bride, but the heights of love can only be discovered in the depths of surrender. It sounds unnatural, doesn't it? Impossible . on our own.
But 1 John 4:14-17 tells us that when we confess Christ as our Lord, He perfects His love in us. And as the stooping Savior makes Himself at home in our hearts, our lives proclaim the truth that the whole world longs to hear:
The shape of true love isn't a diamond. It's a cross.
Dear Jesus, Thank You for loving me with a true and unshakeable love. Grow in me a humble heart so that Your perfect love can shine through my imperfect life. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
The Power of the Holy Spirit
Luke 24:44-53The principle we will explore today is basic but so powerful that it determines whether we experience victory in our lives.
You are probably familiar with the book The Little Engine That Could, in which a small engine keeps repeating the words "I think I can." By using sheer willpower, she pulls an entire train over the mountain. That's a nice children's story, but the truth of the Christian life is very different. In the real world, our efforts and determination often fall short. Only by walking in the power of the Holy Spirit can the godly life be achieved.
Throughout the Old Testament, God's Spirit would temporarily come upon saints for a particular work. However, after Jesus ascended to heaven, He sent the Spirit to dwell permanently within each believer. Consider what this means: If you're a Christian, God is living inside of you, available to help all through life by providing guidance, comfort, and empowerment.
Obedience to Christ is too difficult for anyone relying on his own strength. And discerning what to do in every situation is far too complicated for a fleshly mind. For some reason, though, Christians often try to live life by depending on their own energy and reasoning. Defeat and failure are unavoidable without His power in our lives.
Do you recognize your need for the Lord? Begin each day confessing your dependence upon Him. Ask to be filled with His Spirit so that all you think, do, and say will be an overflow from Him. Then trust Him to work in mighty ways through you. Watch what almighty God can do.
Responding to God's Love
John 3:16
God has to be true to Himself. People are foolish to entertain the hope that He will ignore justice and sacrifice holiness in order to allow unbelievers into heaven. Living a mostly moral life will not satisfy a righteous Judge.
As much as the Lord loves us and desires to save us from our sins, He cannot deny His holiness by accepting sin in His presence. The Father is pristine perfection--a holy Being who, by His very nature, must condemn all sin. Therefore, it is the height of egotism to think that God will bend both His law and His nature to welcome one whom still bears the stain of wrongdoing.
There is not one person who's good enough to enter heaven on his or her own merit. Every one of us needs Jesus. The stain of sin is washed clean only by the sacrifice of God's holy and blameless Son. Those who believe in Christ are forgiven their wrongs and cloaked in His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21).
Let me make it very clear that trusting Jesus is far more than giving intellectual assent to His existence--that's something even the Devil acknowledges. A true believer enters into a relationship with the One who loves his soul enough to save him from eternal punishment.
Those who remain tightly wrapped in their mantle of sin cannot hope to sneak into heaven. God's holy nature demands perfection, and since we can't provide this for ourselves, the Lord has given it to all who believe in Him. He has exchanged our filthy rags for a cloak of righteousness (Zech. 3:4).
Accepting God's Gift of Love
1 John 4:7-12
Many people simply can't believe that the Lord loves them. Others believe that He loves them, but only when they are pleasing Him in some way. Why is it so hard for us to accept His unconditional love?
One reason is that we have a hard time loving others without condition. We might say the words "I love you" to our spouse, children, friends, co-workers, or fellow believers but all too often are calculating in our mind whether or not they've lived up to our standard. We sometimes excuse ourselves from loving certain people because their behavior upsets or annoys us. The fact that we place restrictions on extending favor causes us to wrongly assume that the Lord does likewise.
Another reason is poor self-image. Considering ourselves unworthy, we refuse to accept God's love. You know what? None of us are worthy of the heavenly Father's goodness and mercy-so you can let go of that excuse once and for all. We're not coming to Him based on our worth. Rather, we're coming to Him based on His grace, and our position is secure in Christ. To put yourself down as "beneath His grace" is to trample on His loving, generous gift. God arranged an awesome divine way for us to be reconciled to Him, and His greatest desire is for relationship with each of us.
If you feel unloved or struggle to accept yourself, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of our heavenly Father's love for you-and to sink it deep into your heart. Receive the truth that He reveals. It will be a completely different story about your value as an individual.
Our Heavenly Father's Unconditional Love
Romans 5:6-11
Scripture tells us that love is the very essence of who God is (1 John 4:7). So if you don't believe that He loves you unconditionally, you'll never really know Him or have genuine peace about your relationship with Him.
How do you define "love"? It is Jesus unselfishly reaching out to mankind, giving Himself to us and bringing good into our life regardless of whether or not we accept Him. Romans 5:8 tells us that His care and concern are so immeasurable that He laid down His life for us while we were still His enemies. In fact, the Bible says that He first began to express His love toward us before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:3-5). That means your actions had absolutely nothing to do with His love for you!
God's commitment to us has absolutely no conditions or restrictions and isn't based on whether we love Him back. Nor does He have more love for "good" people who may strike us as more worthy. He loves us even in our sin, even when we don't repent. Does that give us license to disobey? No. It gives us power to live holy lives, walk obediently with Him, and learn to love Him the way He deserves. To follow Him is to receive the love He has been offering all along.
Every single moment, whether awake or asleep, we all live under the canopy of the Lord's wondrous, absolute love for us. But to fully experience that love, you must receive it. Say yes to this amazing gift that God wants to pour out on you. Bask in it, and let it overflow to those around you.
No Greater Love
John 15:12-14
Perhaps the most intense love and protective instinct in the experience of mankind is that of parents toward their children. There is little that most mothers or fathers wouldn't do for a baby. If a truck posed a threat to the little one, it wouldn't surprise us if they jumped in front of the moving vehicle without a second thought.
Wouldn't you like to be cared for with this kind of intensity? You are. In fact, the Lord's love toward you is far deeper and more secure than that of even the most caring, tuned-in human parent. And what God did for us is proof. Romans 5:8 says that while we were living in disobedience, He sent His only Son to die on the cross for us.
Think about a father giving up his child for people who choose to rebel against him. What a tremendous sacrifice and cost! Jesus' death took the place of the punishment that we deserved. If we accept this gift and decide to follow God, He no longer sees us as guilty. Rather, He justifies us, makes us righteous, and changes our ultimate destiny: instead of facing everlasting separation from Him, we will enjoy His presence eternally. What's more, almighty God adopts us as His children forever. Our heavenly Father guides, protects, and counsels us as we walk through life-and promises us that we are secure in Him throughout eternity.
How incredible that the Creator of the universe would love you and me in this way! Do you know and experience the security and sweetness of His care? Gratitude and praise should flow from your heart. In turn, love others deeply out of thankfulness for the love that you have received.
The Futile Wrath of Man
"Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." (Psalm 76:10)
Lively Hope
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (1 Peter 1:3)
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (1 Peter 1:3)
This verse contains several enlightening words:
Blessed: The word in Greek means to be well spoken of, or praised. According to: This does not say that we are blessed according to the extent of His mercy, but rather that He was impelled by His "abundant mercy" to save us.
Begotten: A child is begotten of parents and is of the same nature as its parents. We are begotten into God's family by the work of Christ. Again: There are two possible concepts which are attached to the term "born again"-born "the second time," or born "from above." In our text, the term used is literally born "the second time," but the Father mentioned is God. We are indeed born "the second time," and that "from above."
Lively: The word is in the form of a verbal adjective, having all the descriptive power of an adjective and all the active power of a verb. A "lively" hope is more than a hope that is living; it is actively alive. Hope: We hope, not in the sense of desiring something to come to pass, but in the confident assurance of something which certainly shall come to pass. We may "lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast" (Hebrews 6:18-19). We shall follow Christ in life everlasting.
Resurrection: It may seem strange to think we are born again "by the resurrection," but this was the instrument God used to bring about His purpose. In a real sense, Christ was "born again" with a glorified body when He arose from the dead. Since He is "the firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18), many will follow, "that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29). JDM
Scripture Songs
"Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel." (Deuteronomy 31:19)
"Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel." (Deuteronomy 31:19)
The book of Psalms was essentially a song book for Old and New Testament Jews, while other songs are scattered throughout Scripture written by a variety of prophets and leaders. Our text tells us that the Lord commanded Moses and Joshua to write aspects of the Law and details of God's dealings with the nation, as well as His promise of judgment, should they disobey-in a song.
This song would serve several functions. First, it would be a memory device. "It shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed" (v. 21). Those who have been around good church music probably know many portions of Scripture set to music, including the grand old hymns of the faith which are frequently conglomerates of many verses around a doctrinal theme. Many of us probably have memorized without trying, and maybe without realizing it, many, many Scripture verses. In fact, this may be the very best way to build biblical principles into the lives of our children.
The second function of Moses' song would be to convict those in disobedience (32:7, 47, etc.). As with the people of Israel, our hearts should be receptive to the teachings contained within the songs that we know.
Unfortunately, Israel seldom listened, even to those songs they had memorized. Thus, the third and evidently primary function of this song was to "testify against them as a witness" (31:21). Much of this song carefully explains their coming apostasy and inevitable judgment. No doubt many remembered this song and its message with tears as they marched into captivity, unable to charge God with unfaithfulness. JDM
Daniel the President
"It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage." (Daniel 6:1-2)
"It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage." (Daniel 6:1-2)
Not many people realize that the godly prophet Daniel was the first president of the great Medo-Persian-Babylonian empire!
Of course, Daniel's office did not correlate directly with that of an American president, being appointive rather than elective, and being subject to the emperor, but he nevertheless had great authority. Many translations use the word "governor" instead of "president"-the original language was Aramaic in this case rather than Hebrew.
In any case, Daniel was a God-fearing Hebrew, rather than a Persian or Babylonian, and so soon drew the envy and resentment of the other "presidents" and "princes" of the empire. But the only charge they could make against him (there was no hint of scandal or corruption in his character or activities, unlike certain nominally Christian presidents in our own country) was that he was too "religious," worshipping openly the true God of creation instead of the nature-gods of the pagans. "They could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him" (Daniel 6:4).
It is sadly true that such a testimony could never have been given concerning any American president, not even Washington or Lincoln, as great and praiseworthy as they were. Nevertheless, God would remind us "that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty" (I Timothy 2:1-2). HMM
Nests in the Ark
"Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch." (Genesis 6:14)
"Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch." (Genesis 6:14)
Details surrounding the story of Noah and the Flood have long caused laymen and theologians alike to stumble and compromise.
None could argue that the wording was not clear. God had commanded Noah to build a wooden boat of huge dimensions and to take on board representatives of land-dwelling, air-breathing animals. The Flood, Scripture reveals, devastated the entire world. But nineteenth-century theologians, pressed on by Hutton, Lyell, and others proposing the new uniformitarian interpretation of Earth history, became convinced that the scriptural account must be understood in a figurative sense. Their twentieth-century counterparts repeat this error, promulgating the non-biblical idea that the Flood was only local.
Some have wondered how Noah could gather all the animals, but the Bible simply says they "went in two and two unto Noah into the ark" (7:9), evidently migrating to the location on God's command.
Their care while on the Ark has also been raised as a problem. But, in all likelihood, the animals entered a state of semi-dormancy, as nearly all of their descendants do today when faced with danger over which they have no control and from which they cannot flee.
Scripture supports this idea in our text: The word "rooms," which is more properly translated "nests" everywhere else in Scripture, implies a small place to sleep or nestle rather than a large cage. The job of caring for the animals may have been difficult, but our gracious God would have seen to it that it was possible. Questions like these are no cause for compromise. JDM
Lifelong Love
"Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 9:9)
"Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 9:9)
The above wise advice was written by King Solomon in his later years, after many years of searching for happiness through intellectualism, worldly pleasures, riches, and power, and finding that all of it was mere "vanity and vexation of spirit" (Ecclesiastes 1:14).
Solomon had 700 wives, all of whom were "princesses" and thus at least partially for purposes of prestige and politics, but various references in his Book of Proverbs suggest that these were more a problem than a help. It is interesting that he had only one son, Rehoboam, plus two daughters, as far as the record goes.
That one son was born a year before he became king, while he was still very young, and Naamah (Rehoboam's mother) was thus very likely the only wife he really loved (compare 1 Kings 11:42; 14:21), as described so beautifully in his Song of Solomon, which Solomon himself called his "Song of Songs."
So it seems poignant and significant that, near the end of his life, Solomon is counseling young men to cultivate that special love "with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity." (Note also Proverbs 5:18-19). The Bible very seldom refers to romantic love or marital love (nearly always biblical love is "agape" love), so this rare reference to romantic love (as between a young bride and bridegroom) is especially noteworthy. The admonition to "live joyfully" is from a word usually translated "alive," so his advice was to keep that young marital love alive and fresh all through life! HMM
FEBRUARY 20, 2015
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"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)
It never fails. The moment I sit down to work at my computer, I'm interrupted.
I tend to multi-task, so I can be writing a devotion, working on a speaking message or helping my high-schooler with research for a project, all at the same time. As a result, I often have multiple websites open.
That's when the interruptions start. Bzzztt.
The buzzer rings to move the clothes from the washer to dryer. The water is boiling for spaghetti noodles. Inevitably, "Mom, I need your help!" bellows from the other room.
Hours later when supper is over, the laundry's completed and the problem is solved, I finally return to my computer. As my PC awakens I notice the opened websites look exactly the same as when I left them hours before. Untouched. Unchanged. Suspended in time.
But as soon as I hit the refresh button, all the information on the untouched, unchanged, suspended-in-time pages turns instantly current.
Something similar happens when we leave our Bibles untouched and then begin reading again. As we read in today's key verse, God's Word is "alive and active." Reading it refreshes our souls and can touch and change our lives.
Recently while I was reading Psalm 23, King David's words became alive and active. It felt like God hit the refresh button in my spirit to show me the current application of this familiar Psalm. Can I share with you how I was refreshed by these six short verses?
"The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever." (NLT)
Refreshed, these ancient words reminded me:- He gives me all I need. (v1)
- He lets me rest. (v2)
- He leads me. (v2)
- He renews me. (v3)
- He guides me. (v3)
- He keeps me company. (v4)
- He protects me. (v4)
- He raises me up. (v5)
- He honors me. (v5)
- He pursues me. (v6)
- He will spend eternity with me. (v6)
Do you feel refreshed? I know I do. God's Word has power. Each time we read it, words penned thousands of years ago come to life over and over again! His Word is truly alive and active. God longs to touch and change our lives each day with His power. I just love God's Word! And I pray if you don't already, some day you will, too.
Dear Lord, thank You for leaving Your Word for me to read. Help me experience its power in my life. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Bearing One Another's Burdens
Galatians 6If you are looking for a way to carry out Christ's command to love your neighbor, Paul has a suggestion: bear their burdens. At some point, everyone struggles under the weight of an oppressive situation. Believers have an obligation to get under that load next to their brothers and sisters.
Jesus sets the pattern for burden bearing. He calls to Himself all who are heavy-laden and gives them rest (Matt. 11:28-29). Since God predestines believers to be conformed to Christ's likeness, we must imitate His care and concern for those who suffer. Acts 4:32 shows that the early church followed His example. To lift the load of poverty, they pooled their resources so that no one was in need.
Paul's letters make clear his concern for the physical and spiritual welfare of growing churches. He fasted and prayed for them and sent missionaries when he could. He felt it was his responsibility to strengthen them, even though he sustained a personal hardship-his thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7).
A believer cannot wait until his life is clear of obstacles before reaching out to others, since that day may never come. Even though we have our own needs, we can do all things through Christ's strength-including sharing someone else's adversity (2 Cor. 12:9).
When you're willing to wade into someone else's troubles to help that person hold up under the weight, two things happen. First, he or she receives desperately needed blessings in the form of aid, support, and love. And second, you fulfill God's command to love a neighbor as yourself.
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