Blog
Christ, the Lord, is Risen Today
Monday, April 03, 2023“And he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him’” Mark 16:6. Surely these women knew that a guard had been set at the tomb but couldn’t count on their help to roll away the heavy stone. Imagine their alarm when they approached and found the guard, whose job it was to secure the tomb from someone robbing the body and claiming a resurrection, for fear of the angel had become “like dead men,” as Matthew adds. And so were they to believe that this young man (Luke says two) had somehow overpowered soldiers and rolled the stone away himself? Neither were they expecting a risen Savior but had come with spices to anoint a dead body. The angel acknowledges that Jesus of Nazareth had indeed died, but then gives the proclamation that is the pivitol moment in human history: He has risen. Though the full ramifications of this moment would be explained by New Testament writers and commentators over the centuries, this is the exact point in which we did not have to die in our sins nor ever be separated from God. We can sing, “Christ, the Lord, Is Risen Today.”
Who Said that He Was Alive
Monday, April 03, 2023“and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive” Luke 24:23. How Jesus must have enjoyed this exchange. The anticipation had to be almost too much. Kept from recognizing Him until they broke bread with him at the day’s end, Jesus got to really spend some great time with two of His disciples and hear what they understood about all that had happened. It would be a month and a half before the Holy Spirit would be poured out upon them as a gift given when someone obeyed the gospel (Acts 2:38-39). Finding them walking along and confused about the things they discussed, Jesus gently prodded with “What things?” They rehashed the tragic details only to get to the real news: Jesus had been resurrected somehow—they thought. It was a rumor they had heard that they dared not let themselves believe, but as the “stranger” interpreted all the Scriptures that concerned the Christ’s suffering before He could enter His glory, their hearts burned within them. What a Bible study that must have been by the One it was all about! Jesus turned doubts and confusion into faith. Isn’t that His followers’ job as well?
God Returned the Evil
Monday, March 27, 2023“Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers” Judges 9:56. I once counseled a man who had just found out that a family friend had molested his young daughter. He was understandably angry and had the military background to really follow through on what he wanted to do to this man. After all, how do you live in harmony (Romans 12:16) with those who are bent on causing you or those you love harm? Is there a time when God’s people say that these things we read about in scripture are only valid when things are going somewhat well in our lives and are easy to do? Or, will we admit that perhaps we learn more than we apply in our Christian walk? “Never be wise in your own sight,” verses 16-19 continues, “Repay no one evil for evil … If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all … Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God ….” And that is what God did when David had the opportunity twice to avenge himself against Saul. Instead of heaping coals upon this judge’s head whose heart would not change, God had a millstone dropped upon Abimelech’s. Have you left room for God’s wrath?
I Walk in Your Faithfulness
Monday, March 27, 2023“For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness” Psalm 26:3. Integrity is something that we often hear about only when a celebrity or politician falls from grace, and yet these same people would argue that there’s no God and so no standard of morality we must adhere to to have integrity. In this psalm, David calls for vindication from God because he has walked in integrity or God’s standard of conduct. This doesn’t mean that David is perfect but rather has a righteous consistency. We understand that in God there is no darkness at all, and so if we are to have fellowship with a righteous God, that we must walk in the light as Jesus, whose death frees us from sin, does so His blood can continue to purify us from all sin (1 John 1:5—2:6). This is walking in our integrity—not sinlessness but a seeking what God wants from us and living it out the best that we can. When we stop doing this, then we are no longer walking in the light as He is in the light and we deceive ourselves that all is fine in our relationship with God. After describing how he is striving for this righteous consistency in his life, David ends the psalm by declaring, “I will walk in my integrity.”
Take Refuge in My Shade
Monday, March 13, 2023“And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade …’” Judges 9:15. We must be careful of the alliances we make. We must not be unequally yoked in this life. We cannot compromise with the world. For if we do … terrible consequences will follow. Abimelech was bad news from the start. The jealous and ambitious son of Gideon’s concubine, he got into the hearts of the people that were already corrupted by the worship of Baal to be their leader. After they’d justified this bad idea by saying, “He is our brother,” he killed all seventy of his half-brothers from his father’s wives. He was, after all, a bramble with long thorns—probably like the crown the soldiers wove for Christ. What did they expect when they took refuge in his shade? And what do Christians expect when they identify more with the values of the world than they do the church? And their lives resemble celebrities more than Christ? When they can name every player on the field or every song in the countdown but aren’t having private study or family devotional time? The brambles are plentiful—and sharp. Whose shade are you taking refuge in?