Archive for March, 2022
He Is Risen
“He is risen” was the stunning news brought by the women who had come to the tomb. The disciples who received the news thought it to be an idle tale. Don’t fault them; that was foreign to the most extreme thought they had ever had.
Satan continues to deny the resurrection, claiming He swooned and revived in the cool tomb. This is proof they don’t understand crucifixion.
Others say His body was stolen. By whom?
Had His enemies stolen it they could later present the corpse as evidence
His followers were persecuted for professing His resurrection. Had they stolen it they would have presented the corpse and relieved themselves of the torture.
HE DIED
The abuse given a body by the Romans in crucifying a person was inhumane. An instrument used was a short whip called a flagrum or flagellum with single or braided thongs of variable lengths, in which small iron balls or sharp pieces of sheep bones were tied at intervals. The person to be scourged was stripped and tied between two posts. Two soldiers, known as lictors, on opposite sides began at the shoulders and worked down with their lashes. The force of the blows caused the iron balls to initially cause deep contusions. The leather thongs and sheep bone cut the epidermis and subcutaneous tissues. As the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh. Pain and blood loss set the stage for circulatory shock. Hematidrosis rendered the skin particularly tender. It was in this state Christ was taken to the cross. There He died, likely of a cardiac arrhythmia or cardiac rupture.
HE WAS ALIVE
First at the tomb on that third morning were the women. One of the two angelic messengers said to them, “Why are you seeking the living among the dead? He is risen as He said.”
Notice the response of the disciples to the news brought by the women: “…their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them” (Luke 24:11).
However, they rushed to the tomb. The tomb was open, not to let Christ out, but to let them in. He is risen. All heaven broke loose.
He was seen over a period of forty days by friends and foes. He was seen, touched, and talked with. He was seen indoors and out, on shadowy roadways and sunny beaches by 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 11, and 500 people at once. He was alive. By any basic indications of the five senses, He was evidently alive. He arose from the dead.
Every argument against the bodily resurrection of Christ is philosophical. Every evidence of His resurrection is historical and physical. He, the dead Christ, became the living resurrected Christ. What does that mean to you?
Why was all this Heavenly drama enacted here on planet earth?
It was summed up in Christ’s sixth saying on the cross. He cried out tetelestai, “It is finished.” Tax records of the era have been found with the word “tetelestai” written across them meaning “paid in full.” As used for Christ on the cross, it meant His redemptive work was finished because – – –
“He made Him who knew not sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (II Corinthians 5: 21) Praise God He lives.
Self-Examination: Part II
II CORINTHIANS 13: 1 – 5 and I JOHN 2: 15 – 17
Jesus asked a question worthy of your thought: “What is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?”
The Bible also says, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.” Employ these steps in self-examination.
a. Pray for divine guidance that you may be objective.
b. Search yourself with the Scripture as the standard.
c. Keep your eyes on Jesus as your example.
Many people won’t take time to take a look at themselves. They are afraid they won’t like what they find; or if they are honest enough to admit what they find, they will have to acknowledge God doesn’t like what is there. He knows.
Are you “in the faith?” I John gives us a test to prove we are. Part of the test relates to what we love. “Agape” is the word used for love in our text. It is important that we love the right thing. Love improperly placed is a good thing gone wrong.
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (I John 2:15) What is the world referenced?
The New Testament word “world “ is used in three ways.
a. The physical earth: “God that made the world..” (Acts 17:24).
b. Humankind: “For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16).
c. Our pagan social order, life apart from God, the world alien from God, Satan’s system as opposed to Christ’s. This is the way it is used in our text.
We should not love the world because of the way it operates.
It makes you God’s enemy: “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be friends of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4)
Things of the world absorb us with their promise of pleasure and fulfillment only to let us down. How does it gain our attention?
Verse 16 gives the answer. It was true of Eve and Jesus, but us also.
Appetite – “lust of the flesh.” Satan employed this against Jesus when he appealed to him to “turn these stones into bread.”
Aesthetics – “lust of the eyes” represents a life dominated by wants.
Since the world does not understand us, it doesn’t approve of us. You are an object of the world’s disapproval.
Consider what happens to things of the world. They are “passing away.”
Consider who you are intended to be.
As one “in the faith” you are intended to be an overcomer. Christ said: “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).
“For whoever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world — our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (I John 5: 4,5)
Self-Examination: Part I
“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (I John 2:3; 3:24; 5:3)
Jesus constantly probed the conscience and examined the heart of those He encountered. He still desires to help us see ourselves as seen by the Father. The appeal extended in the text is for us to examine ourselves as to whether we are “in the faith.” Since there is no issue more vital than determining whether we are in the faith, let’s begin.
Test number one: “Do you keep His commands?” (2:3).
It is not enough just to know the language, we must live the life. Four times in the opening verses of I John the author refers to a person who says one thing and does another: I John 1:6, 8, 10, and 2:4.
First a word of caution. You will never be able to do this by imitation. It must be by incarnation.
Sir Walter Scott warned us of the urgency of destroying the seed of a deed before it sprouts and flowers with these words:
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave When first we practice to deceive!”
Obedience results from one of three stimuli:
We have to. A slave has no choice.
We need to. An employee obeys because he needs to. He may not really want to obey, but he does want the rewarding pay that results. We all need what results from obedience — God’s blessings.
We want to. We have matured in the faith when: “His commandments are not burdensome.” (I John 5: 3)
Assurance comes through obedience to His will. This is inner loving submission. The second “know” in the text is perfect tense meaning to know Him by experience. That experience results in obedience.
The word “keep” was used of a sentry walking his post. It means to watch over so as to guard the commands of Christ. It is in the present tense meaning this should be the habit of one’s life. This obedience is to be habitual action.
The person who “keeps his word” (verse 5) is one in whom God’s love is “perfected”. Again this is a verb in the perfect tense meaning to bring a thing to a desired end or goal. Proof that we are “in the faith” is that the love of God is in us. This love results in us keeping His commands. We are therefore obedient.
Pause now and evaluate how you can improve on your walk with Him.
Praying for Your Enemies
“Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” (Luke 12: 51 – 53)
What Jesus was teaching was His body of truth and that of the world are opposites. Some would be His followers and others not. Thus, the division.
As with people, so with nations. Some oppose the Bible body of truth and others embrace it. Some opponents become overt, even aggressive ones.
Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies: “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…. (Matthew 5: 44) That is applicable to individuals and nations.
How are believers to pray for them? When Christians are told to pray for those who oppose God’s standards most think that means we are to pray for God to send them to hell. Psalm 129 is called the Imprecatory Psalm. Precatory means prayer. The “im” preface means prayer against. It is a lesson on how to pray for those who oppose Bible principals.
First, pray that they will not be honored. What’s there to honor in opposing God’s will? Instead pray that they may “Be put to shame.” Vs 5
Second, pray they will not succeed. “Let them be as the grass on housetops.” Most of the houses of the time had mud roofs. Grass seed sown there grows, but soon dies. May their opposition to the gospel wither.
Third, pray they will not be blessed. “Neither let those who pass by them say, ‘The blessing of the Lord be upon you; We bless you in the name of the Lord!’” Don’t pray God will honor the efforts made against Him.
Every time a believer prays this portion of the Lord’s prayer, “thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as in heaven,” (Matthew 6: 9 – 1) that is equivalent to what is taught in Psalm 129.
Jesus gave us the model prayer contained in Matthew 6 and told us to include it as a part of our prayer life. Join me in praying it several times a day. Keep in mind the One to whom you are praying even more than what you are praying. This passage from Psalm 129 needs also to be prayed often and earnestly.
II Corinthians 4: 10 describes believers in the eyes of the world and of Jesus. The italics are mine inserted for clarity. “We are fools for Christ’s sake, in the eye’s of the world, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, from a worldly perspective, but you are strong! You are distinguished, in God’s sight, but we are dishonored!” by the world. Like the apostles we should consider it an honor to suffer for Jesus’ sake. No whining allowed.
The Old Testament Lord’s Prayer – Part Two
In the Old Testament era followers of Jehovah were taught a special prayer which gave cause for optimism. It is often called the equivalent of the Lord’s Prayer in the Old Testament. It is known as the Aaronic Benediction.
“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”
Doctors of Mayo Clinic did a study resulting in them making a four equal armed cross composed of factors leading to a better lifestyle and health. They are:
WORK, PLAY, LOVE, AND WORSHIP.
First, work. There is therapy in work well done. A sense of satisfaction relieves stress. The way in which work should be done is found in Colossians 3: 23: “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.”
Put yourself into your work as though creating a work of art to be viewed by the Lord Himself.
Second, play. Unplug, recreate, and enjoy amusement. Allow yourself to relax and laugh.
Stress, prolonged fatigue, negative emotions, and a pessimistic outlook flood the body with toxins. They release chemical toxins within your body. Don’t make your body a toxic waste dump by depriving it of play.
Health is no laughing matter, but it does help if you laugh.
The body is under a biochemical onslaught. Mounting research makes it clear that one’s attitude and emotional state are impressively vital to the preservation of health and recovery from illness.
Third, love. Try giving yourself away. If you try loving and giving yourself away, there will be lots of offers.
A short version of Jesus’ summation of the law is simply, “You shall love…” He went on to conclude the statement saying, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37)
Don’t look upon God with suspicion. Release yourself to love Him.
Fourth, worship. A clarion call to worship and an unequaled example is found in the book of the Revelation.
The only way we can stay alert to the reality of God in Christ ruling and saving is in the act of worship.
Worship is the primary means we have to orientate ourselves to God’s will. Therein and thereby we are informed and energized.
Worship is not to be limited to one hour on Sunday, but should be a part of every day.
Make sure you daily include equally all four of these life points of the cross.