Constrained to Serve through True Repentance

Many have asked, "why are some believers really excited about Jesus and others, not so much?" This ia a good question and one I am inclined to answer the following way. Some have been forgiven much and so they love much, Luke 7:47. The impact is heartfelt and the heavy burden of sin rolls off their backs like water off of a duck. For this they are eternally grateful and often desire to serve immediately. Like Zacchaeus (Luke 19:8), who promised to give one half his money to the poor and four times in taxes back to all he stole from, they with haste want to show their gratitude to God and man. But the deeper answer may be found in the amount of worth we place on being forgiven of sin as opposed to the value of continuing in it. Maybe some do not see the worth in being forgiven nor the power in sin to separate. Maybe too, they see eternity as something that they themselves have an eternity to wait before they need to reckon with it, so eternal things, like obeying God and service are just not that important. But what I really believe is at work in a radically changed life is Repentance; that is, the change of heart and mind toward sin and its effect on a relationship to God (Gr. Metaneo). Before one can come to a relationship to Christ they must first internalize the separation that sin has made in their life. They can never pray for forgiveness if they do not realize they need to be forgiven. Sin is powerful; but it is a mocker. If personified, it would mock God and say I am not so bad. It would do its best to make its nature at the worst, grey, but certainly not black. This is an issue because some do not believe that all sin separates but only "bad" sin, such as murder or adultery.

The fact is, all sin separates. From the whitest lie to the darkest deed it all carries the same weight of power
– the power to separate from God. This is the crux of the matter. Many have heard the words of the gospel and only responded in a calculating manner. In their hearts they want forgiveness but some are unwilling to have a change of heart and mind toward the sin and darkness in their life. It is true that John 3:16 states, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." But Jesus qualified what He meant when He stated in the passages that follow, "17  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." John 3:17-21 (NKJV)

Note Jesus qualified the word "condemned" which results in separation as being a work of darkness that is greater loved than His light. The Light reveals the darkness and true believers come to His light, but the revelation of the evil causes some sinners to shield their eyes and turn away because they love the darkness. This love of the darkness must be put off. True belief is recognizing that sin is darkness and must be rebuked and laid at the Cross to be exposed by Christ. This act of agreeing with the light of Christ that our deeds are evil and have separated us from His holy presence spurs us into a change of heart and mind toward the deeds of evil. In turn we confess our belief and dependence in Christ and wholeheartedly, by faith, submit to His sovereign will.

This is done through prayer. Rom 10:10 tells us, "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:10 (NKJV) Therefore biblical belief in Jesus is more than a casual recognition of His existence, it is the swaying power of the Holy Spirit at work, in convincing and convicting us that our sin has separated us from God and that we must believe upon the existence of Jesus in His pre and post resurrected state as the only One who can forgive us and heal the breach, Acts 4:12. If we follow His prescription for life we can experience His love in a greater way.

We can never repay God or appease Him for our sin in any way, Christ did this for us. But we can show our gratefulness through active service and fervent love to Him for what He did for us. 1 John 4:4

God Bless

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Sacrifice.. What Jesus Did - What Jesus Asks

Crosses, gallows, guns, nooses, and chemical injections all have one thing in common, they are instruments used to torture and execute. "In antiquity crucifixion was considered one of the most brutal and shameful modes of death. Probably originating with the Assyrians and Babylonians, it was used systematically by the Persians in the 6th century BC. Alexander the Great brought it from there to the eastern Mediterranean countries in the 4th century BC, and the Phoenicians introduced it to Rome in the 3rd century BC. It was virtually never used in pre-Hellenic Greece. The Romans perfected crucifixon for 500 years until it was abolished by Constantine I in the 4th century AD. Crucifixion in Roman times was applied mostly to slaves, disgraced soldiers, Christians and foreigners—only very rarely to Roman citizens. [Death ranged from 6 hours to 4 days.]... The attending Roman guards could only leave the site after the victim had died, and were known to precipitate death by means of deliberate fracturing of the tibia and/or fibula, spear stab wounds into the heart, sharp blows to the front of the chest, or a smoking fire built at the foot of the cross to asphyxiate the victim."**

Crucifixion was horrible. It cannot be prettied up. It cannot be glossed, spruced up, or tidied in any way. It was gruesome and it was excruciatingly painful. Because of these facts the Father chose the worst possible means known to mankind, to annihilate sin's penalty. We focus upon the Cross, most of the time, as just the way Christ died, but there is more to it than that. The Cross pictured God's wrath against sin. Sin as judged by God was found horribly destructive; therefore its punishment had to be mete for the crimes it inflicted.  God punished sin forever at the Cross.

Christ Became Sin for Us

But sin as judged, also had a penalty to deal with, physical and spiritual death. To be rid of the penalty it had to be served—to be carried out, so God imposed it upon Himself. In Christ the fullness of the Godhead (Tri-Unity of God) dwells, Col. 2:9. The Apostle Paul is clear, "Jesus became sin for us." Sin in itself is intangible. It is the unseen presence that clings to all that destroys. However, through Christ it became tangible. Jesus became the physical and tangible reality of the blackness of sin placed upon the Fathers portrait of holiness. If and when we view Christ prior to the Crucifixion we see innocence—a clean blank slate or page, so-to-speak; the perfect picture of peace, power, love, hope, sinlessness, grace, long-suffering, kindness, pure goodness, and God's presence. In short, we see holiness and purity. It was on this blank slate that the Father chose to etch SIN and its punishment into His pure sinless flesh. Sin, in all its blackness then stood out starkly against the pure clean visage which was Christ. Immediately it became ugly, offensive, shameful, repugnant, and fit only for a burial that could place it out-of-sight and out-of-mind. You see, those who crucified Christ just saw another man—another criminal, a bloody body, that while still alive on the cross, kept them from punching the end-of-day time clock. Very few of the persecutors, really pondered who He was. There were some from the crowds to add to the dying thief, and the lone Roman Soldier who stood in awe at who He confessed Christ was. For others it was the end-of-day pleasures—the sin that He, right in their face, hung crucified to destroy, that held their attention. So, like anything that offends, anything that hinders pleasure, anything that delays routine, He had to be taken down as soon as possible. His visage was more marred than they wanted to bear, Is. 52:14. The heat that emanated from that one life on that cruel cross burned in their minds so long as it was visible, so long as it hung bleeding in the light and soon after, under darkness. But let it never be said that Jesus was ever, not for one moment, out of God's sight, nor out of His mind. The sin He bore turned God's head but His heart was on the cross with His Son. God's will had been accomplished. Jesus allowed His life to be taken, He gave it up for us, for no man could take it from Him, John 10:17-18, 19:30; Luke 23:46. Sin was crucified and Jesus' obedience would become the crowning glory of the church He alone would soon build, Matt. 16:18.

Sin was Buried

In His love for His Son the Father would not allow Jesus to suffer anymore than was necessary, so before the birds could come to chew on the flesh, He was taken down and buried in a freshly hewn and unoccupied, rich man's tomb, Is. 53:9; Matt. 27:57-60; sin still had to be buried in death, Col. 3:1-3. The burial was part of God's intended plan. Sin was now buried. Again there is more to the story. Because the Father raised the Son from the tomb in the glorified body He had before He became a man like us, so will all who will believe in sincerity upon Jesus have our lives buried and raised as well, Col. 3:3. In Christ our sinful life would be hidden never to be brought to light or judged again. What the Father accomplished in His wrath against sin was now forever finished. 

Christ and Our Cross

²³  Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross

daily, and follow Me. ²⁴  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. ²⁵  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? ²⁶  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels. Luke 9:23-26 (NKJV)
 
What is our Cross? Is it not to follow in the Masters path? Is it not to hear the call of the Great Shepherd, the Door of the Sheep and respond in thankfulness to be counted worthy of His sheepfold? Each life who turns in sincerity to Christ receives a call. We all receive a commission that only we can fulfill. It is to Christ we live and to Christ we must die. But it is to the call He places on our heart and life that we must be obedient till death. Our Cross is His Cross. It is simply a call to say, "Thank You Lord for the calling. Thank You for the endowment of trust. I now bind my heart and my life to carry out that calling in order to bring glory to Your Holy Name. My desire is to lift You up that You, oh Lord, will draw all men unto Yourself. My Cross oh Lord, I will bear in Your name and without shame. Please empower me through Christ to do this. In Christ I pray, amen!"

Have you prayed that prayer? Will you pray that prayer? Can Christ rely on you?
 
God Bless

**Death, usually after 6 hours—4 days, was due to multifactorial pathology: after-effects of compulsory scourging and maiming, haemorrhage and dehydration causing hypovolaemic shock and pain, but the most important factor was progressive asphyxia caused by impairment of respiratory movement. Resultant anoxaemia exaggerated hypovolaemic shock. Death was probably commonly precipitated by cardiac arrest, caused by vasovagal reflexes, initiated inter alia by severe anoxaemia, severe pain, body blows and breaking of the large bones.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14750495

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Letter from Lebanon - Call to Prayer

 

The photo pictures brothers and sisters in Lebanon praying for the Christians in Lebanon and their nation.

One of the websites I like to read is the www.RaptureForums.com. A lot of believers from around the globe share stories and comments on various topics concerning the Lord and His soon return. But that is not all, it is also a place to pray for one another. Just recently a Lebanese Christian brother, who who goes by the name Elias Kh, wrote the following plea, asking Christians everywhere to lift the Lebanese brothers and sisters in Christ up in prayer. If you're not from that part of the world you may not be familiar with the culture or having to live a life in fear. The following letter pasted in its entirety and without corrections, will give you some insight into what it is like to live in fear:


Letter From Lebanon  
Brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.

The situation in Lebanon today is "extreme caution" among the Christian community here.

Believe it or not, everything seems to be calm, like utterly and unbelievably calm like never before. But hey do not be fooled, this is the calm before the storm.

From the recent Boston bombings in the USA, to the bombings of the cathedral in Egypt, to the threats of a nuclear war in Asia and the threats of North Korea.

From the recent news of the slaughter of Christians in Syria, it seems this storm which goes by the name "Christian Slaughtering" is roaring over the borders of Lebanon, and it's echoes can be heard, and it is coming my brothers and sisters, it is coming and heading towards us in Lebanon.

We've heard 10 years or before about some leaked tapes from the Hezbollah command, that they are planning to muslimize Lebanon, and take it over for the muslims, but most of the Christians shrugged it off and said it is not true because they got fooled by the "peaceful" speeches of the Hezbollah command. And some of those Christian parties went as far as to make alliances with Hezbollah. Few are the Christians here who kept their eyes opened, and saw the real threat.

It seems my brothers and sisters, that their goal is to abolish Christian presence in the middle east. It is not the fights and battles that we should be afraid of here, it is the super unbelievable utter calm that is dominating Lebanon at the moment, and this calm can sometimes be broken by the Israeli Jets hovering overboard. But before politicians used to go on TV, they used to make statements, they used to do all sorts of things. But this calm is making me and many Christians afraid at the moment.

We are afraid, we don't want to go to America, due to the unrest there, and those FEMA camps that are being set up for us. We don't want to go to Europe or anywhere else because it is not safe for us anymore. Nowhere is safe for us excepts in the hands of Jesus Christ.

We are very afraid my brothers and sisters, but don't get me wrong. If it is my duty to die for Jesus Christ, then i will do so gladly to honor the name of Jesus Christ.

If you have noticed, almost all the arab nations have went into a state of war, except for Lebanon, and this is not good. I can sense the storm that is coming soon for Lebanon. And when this storm comes, the 2 million Christians here will mostly run for their lives, and abandon the Christian faith just to be able to live. Out of those 2 millions I can assure you that there will only be about 100 thousand who will actually stand their ground for their faith, they will defend the Bible and Jesus Christ with all their might, and they will gladly pay their life for the honor and glory of the name of Jesus Christ. Those are the true Christians, because they know their world is not here. It is with the Lord Almighty God and with Jesus Christ. It is in their hands and glory and honor and righteousness and wisdom. They will stand up and defend their faith and the name of Jesus Christ, not because of the things of this world, but to be with Jesus Christ forever, and live in his hands and neverending love.

I assure you brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to stand up for your faith. For you will be rewarded accordingly by God and Jesus Christ, and if it requires your death, then gladly do so, because God will bring his judgement, and justice upon those who persecute his people. And you will be granted Eternal life which this life on earth at the moment is nothing compared to it.

It has started. Mark 13:13 "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."

Pray, and endure! Pray for us, my brothers and sisters, pray for us here in Lebanon to be able to overcome what is coming. To be able to stand our ground and defend our faith and our mighty God and Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing can help us anymore, not even Israel, because they are concerned about their safety at the moment. Not even America can help us anymore. Only the Lord Jesus Christ who is able to help us. Pray for us my fellow born again Christians, and pray for the safety of Lebanon and all the Christians worldwide.

**************************************************************************
I am joining with Elias and the other Christians in Lebanon in a call to prayer and protection from the enemy. The Bible teaches we are always to lift one another up. Let us not forget our Christian Brothers and Sisters in the Lord who daily have to live with fear and danger. God be with them and give them peace.

Bro Mike

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God's 911

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91:1 (ESV)

It is a s simple as that, huh?

God's 911 directs us to dwell and take shelter in the Lord. Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you," John 15:7 (NKJV

Our help is found in Him alone. May the below ABC's of life give you strength in His promises!

To Abide in Christ is to simply take His Word at face value, John 14:24
To Believe upon Him for eternal life, John 3:16-17
To Cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for you, 1 Peter 5:7
To Draw from His well of love for peace, John 14:27
To Erase your sin seek Christ, Matt. 26:28
To Find Hope in Christ, Rom. 15:13
To Gain eternal life, John 3:3
To Have continual joy, John 15:11
To Indeed find strength, 1 Tim. 1:12
To Jesus we must direct our trust, Matt. 12:21
To Keep and receive eternal life in heaven, we must come to Jesus, John 3:17
To Lay your burdens upon Him for rest, Matt. 11:28
To Meet with Christ in prayer is the step to life, Rom. 10:9-10
To Never fear the loss of salvation believe the Word of Christ, John 10:28
To Obey Christ is to keep His word, 1 John 5:2
To Pray to the Lord is to come to His throne of Grace, Heb. 4:16
To Quit trusting in the things that bring chaos is peace, Rom. 14:19
To Receive Jesus is to receive life, John 1:12
To Sup or dine with Christ is to receive His invitation, Rev. 3:20
To Trust in anything other than Christ is futile, Mark 10:24
To Understand the keys of life we must come to Christ, Rev. 1:18
To Vibrantly reflect God you must live in Jesus,  2 Cor. 2:15
To Win the race of faith you must have Jesus as your trainer, Heb. 12:1
To X-ray your heart you must read God's Word, Heb. 4:12
To Yearn for strength, hope, peace, joy and love turn to Christ, Gal. 5:22
To Zealously seek truth we must look no further than the Bible, John 1:14, 17:17

God loves you!!!

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Hosanna, God Save Us!

Mark 11:8-10 (NKJV)

8  And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9  Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' 10  Blessed is the kingdom of our father David That comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

John 12:12-13 (NKJV)

12  The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13  took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' The King of Israel!"

The Word Hosanna, ὡσαννά, Save now; or save, we pray; is an emphatic exclamation of praise to God. In the week prior to His resurrection Jesus rode on the colt of a donkey into Jerusalem where the people of the city had spread leafy branches and palms on the road before Him. There are many things we can look to for a better understanding of this celebratory moment. Here are a few:

Celebration of Victory

Such a welcome was usually reserved for kings who had just returned from battle When the victory was complete the Palms were cast forth in adoration and praise. But in this story of Christ’s Triumphant Entry to Jerusalem, the celebration is wont of a victory. If the victory we search for was the Cross and the subsequent resurrection they had not yet occurred. This had led many scholars to believe it was a foreshadowing of the soon victory of Messiah yet to occur.  This led them to apply the Psalms of Ascents (Ps. 118:25-26) which was sung as a welcome to pilgrims coming up to Jerusalem to worship at Passover, Pentecost or Shavuot, and the Feast of tabernacles or Sukkot. In this sense the people were exclaiming their desire for the Messiah to be their deliverer and King.

Future Celebration of Victory over Evil

In Rev. 7:9-15 the future tribulation saints are seen as being dressed in white linen and holding palms. John saw this event in the following way:

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen." Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

(Rev 7:9-14)

In the passage John is shown a future event that is in a past tense setting. The event was future to John but the victory the saints had been crowned with was past tense to them. They had overcome the evil one during the Great Tribulation and were now standing in victory because of the blood of the Lamb.

We also see a similar victory of the saints in Revelation 4:10. Here the saints of God, pictured as twenty-four elders, are casting their crowns at the feet of the Lord as they worship. The scene depicts the saved of all ages having received crowns for service and casting them at the foot of the throne of God in humility and joyous praise. There is nothing a saint can receive unless it comes from the Lord. The scene typifies God working in and through us and our recognition that we could do nothing without Him.

Victorinus , a 3rd century theologian, stated it the following way:

That is, on account of the eminent glory of Christ’s victory, they (24 elders) cast all their victories under His feet. This is what in the Gospel the Holy Spirit consummated by showing, for when about finally to suffer, our Lord had come to Jerusalem, and the people had gone forth to meet Him, some strewed the road with palm branches cut down, others threw down their garments, doubtless these were setting forth two peoples - the one of the patriarchs, the other of the prophets; that is to say, of the great men who had any kind of palms of their victories against sin, and cast them under the feet of Christ, the victor of all. And the palm and the crown signify the same things, and these are not given save to the victor.

Jesus is the victor over sin and death—He alone is worthy of our worship!

Coronation of a King

Another side of the story of Palm Sunday can be found in 2 Kings 9:13 where Jehu is celebrated as the new King of Israel. His servants start the celebratory moment through laying a blanket on the steps before him over which he would soon pass. Elisha the prophet, God’s spokesman, had made the announcement under the authority of God’s Word, 1 Kings 9:6.

Other Scenes from John 12

We are told Jesus comes into the city on the colt of a Donkey. What a contrast this is in juxtaposition to all that the kings of the world would desire. Why not a strong horse? Why a colt? In the first advent or coming of Christ, the Lord would appear, not as the conquering King, but as Isaiah’s suffering servant. But the people for the most part were blind to this. When the prophets spoke of the Messiah or deliverer in the Old Testament or Tanakh, they often did so in terms of a Messianic Warrior who would destroy all kingdoms and elevate Israel to the place of honor over all nations. This was the preferred view to look for in their Messiah. But in doing so they often overlooked His coming first as the final sacrifice to save the people from their sin. To do so would mean suffering and death. Isaiah tells us of both. In Is. 9:6-7 He is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. There will be no end to His rule. But in Isaiah 53 we see a different picture. There we see:

He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

(Is. 53:3-6)

So at the end of the day, Christ did not come on a shining strong white horse because the King had two victories to win. The first He had to win was the victory over sin and death. He would be the Passover Lamb, 1 Cor. 5:7, the One to be sacrificed and substituted for our sin. This victory did not require a shining white horse that pictured conquering strength and victory but rather a small donkey picturing humility and burden. The Scripture is clear; we are called to cast all of our cares upon Him because He cares for us, 1 Pet. 5:7. That is why He came.

Still the crowds looked for the Conquering King to deliver them from the oppressive rule of the Romans. When that did not occur for the most part He was abandoned. Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep will scatter, Zech. 13:7; Mark 14:27.

But all is not lost, Praise to God!!! His first victory was necessary to bring forth His final victory and the fulfillment of Is. 9:6-7 and many other passages. Rev. 19 gives us a glimpse of what the people desired to see on that first Palm Sunday.

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Rev. 19:11-16)

That is the Jesus the first century believers wanted to see. Zech. 14:4-5 also gives us a glimpse of the King who will return to earth to conquer to the same place from which He ascended to heaven, the Mt. of Olives.

And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south. Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with You. (Zech. 14:4-5)

What a glorious day that will be. The invitation to ride that horse in battle array with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is still open. God is still calling us to lay down our Palm branches and to crown Him Lord of all.

Do not delay any longer. Time is running out. God will soon be calling us to glory. Do not be left behind! Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. (Isa 55:6)

Ezekiel also saw that future day when the Lord would be seated on the throne for eternity. When the victory was won and the Millennial Temple was prepared for God’s Holy Habitation; for you and I He was given the following vision of the Lord:

Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east.

And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.

It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw--like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face.

And the glory of the LORD came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east.

The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple. Ezekiel 43:1-5 (NKJV)

Won’t you seek Him for eternal life today? All you need to do is believe that He died and arose again for your sin. Then call out to Him in prayer, confessing your sin that He may forgive you with the intent on serving Him from now on. Then join a church and be baptized; dedicate your life to Him forever. The miracle of a changed heart will ensue and you will know why other Christians love Jesus. Please let me know if you prayed to receive Jesus, John 1:12,  and if you would like more personal instruction.

Jesus loves you, don’t forget it.

God Bless

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Rushing the Tomb!

One of the most beautiful pictures of the Easter/Passover season is the painting above depicting Peter and John as they rush toward the empty tomb of Jesus. Early on the first day of the week (Sunday), Mary Magdalene had run to inform them that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb.The story follows:

¹  Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. ²  Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." ³  Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. ⁴  So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. ⁵  And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. ⁶  Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, ⁷  and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. ⁸  Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. ⁹  For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. ¹⁰  Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. John 20:1-10 (NKJV)

As I was reading the story I wondered to myself at the magnitude of the impact this one event has had on history. Over 2000 years since His birth and nearly 2000 years from the actual Resurrection this one event is still turning the world upside down. I for one am overjoyed by the fact that my eternal destiny is sealed through the shed blood of Christ and His subsequent victory over death. By this one event alone all that Christ spoke, all of His actions, and all He accomplished was divinely affirmed by the Father. He is indeed Lord.

Peter and John rush to the tomb because they needed verification of what Mary had told them, yet they still did not understand. Psalm 16:10, a Messianic prophecy states, "For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption." And again in Scripture Isaiah prophesies around 700 years earlier, "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. (Isa 53:10-11) Peter and John are not unlike us today. There are still many who have not yet believed. Some are still waiting for miracles to prove it; some are living their lives to disprove it; some have found their happiness in another god or another religion and have not looked into the facts concerning Christ; yet others are just too caught up in their self and daily lives that eternal things are just not important. Peter and John had spent over three years of their lives with Jesus. They touched Him, ate with Him, sailed with Him and served Him. Yet even then, His prediction of the resurrection at this moment in their lives had not yet sunk in, cp. John 14, Mark 8:31; Matthew 17:22; Luke 9:22.

The Church was a Mystery to the first century Jews. They always thought that the scepter of rule would be theirs forever and viewed the Scripture through the lens that when Messiah came the earthly subservience to another earthly kingdom would end. Their worldview in many ways clouded out the realities of what the prophets had foretold. Although they were looking for a Messiah--their Messiah, would be one who would destroy the Roman armies and end the occupation--not one who would suffer and die. Surprisingly, just before Jesus' ascension into heaven, in Acts 1:6 they are still asking, "...Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" This could teach us the lesson that when it comes to studying the Scripture we need to allow all preconceived ideas and worldviews hit the floor hard and never look back. We then need to open the Scripture to get a fresh understanding of the Lord. We need to be "...taught by God," John 6:45, if we want to know Jesus.

John and Peter ran to the tomb to discover that Jesus was missing--something caused this but they did not quite know for sure what it was. Soon Jesus would put all fears to rest when He would appear in their midst to show that He had defeated death. Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. (John 20:19-20) 

Jesus still lives and today He is seated at the right hand of the father interceding for the saints 24/7/365, Hebrews 7:25, that is to mean, all around the clock, for the Lord never sleeps nor does He slumber, Psalm 121:4. John and Peter rushed to the tomb because they loved Jesus. Won't you rush to Him as well, confessing your sin, seeking forgiveness, and making Him the Lord of your life? For a while longer, He still waits.


God Bless
Bro. Mike
 
Oil Painting by

Erich Lessing

Apostles Peter and John Hurry to the Tomb on the Morning of the Resurrection
By Eugene Burnand. Oil on canvas, 1898. Collection Musée d’Orsay, Paris

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