(unmarked Bible references today are from Matthew 27-28, Mark 15-16, Luke 23-24, & John 19-20)
when Jesus died on the cross on Good Friday, He was dead. DEAD dead. no life. no pulse. no breath. He was dead before the soldiers came by to make sure He was dead by spearing His side, as they did at every crucifixion.
it was a dark day, literally, when God died. He had been hanging in agony on the cross for 6 hours (i can barely manage the first 3 seconds when i accidentally smash my finger!), finishing His work of bringing God's message and then paying the punishment for what we do. the sky was black, the curtain in the Jewish temple spontaneously tore in half, and dead people rose from the grave all over town!
this was no ordinary death!
His disciples went into hiding. they were devastated. the guy they thought was going to save them all from the Roman occupation, the guy who was supposed to be the reigning Messiah, the guy they'd followed in spite of ridicule and opposition, the guy they'd hung all their hope on.... was dead. and on Sunday morning, after the Sabbath rest (which probably wasn't too restful for most), they were huddled in a room, probably feeling utterly alone in the world.
some women disciples set out around sunrise to visit the tomb. the Romans had put guards around the tomb; i wonder if any of the guards contemplated Jesus' claim of rising again as he stood there all night...
but when the women arrived, the guards were nowhere to be found. they had been shocked by an earthquake as a hugely imposing, brilliant-as-lightning angel of the Lord came from heaven and singlehandedly rolled away the stone from the entrance, then sat on it. in short, the burly Roman guards fainted, then ran away.
instead, the women found the angel, who apparently looked a little more normal, because they weren't quite convinced by him telling them Jesus had risen. after she had fetched Peter and John and they all looked at the curiously empty tomb, Jesus Himself appeared to her and she believed.
this was no ordinary gravesite!
Jesus was ALIVE! after all the agony, after dying till He was dead on the cross for all to see, He was alive again! and He was alive by His own power! it's one thing when Jesus raised others from the dead; it's a completely different story when He raises His own dead self from the grave! He had breath. He had a pulse. He had scars from the cross to prove He was who He said He was. and He stuck around proving Himself and continuing His teaching for 40 days... then one day, as His followers looked on, He rose Himself right into the sky, finally disappearing behind a cloud! Acts 1:9
this was no ordinary guy!
after He left, His followers gathered together, praying, and as they did, the Spirit of God came into their room like a blast of wind, leaving little tongues of fire on their heads, and enabling them to speak the gospel to foreigners in those foreign languages. Acts 2:1-12
there was a new Life living in the followers of Jesus. it was His life. they didn't serve a man who was just a good guy who then died; they had chosen to follow the Man who had created the universe, then left His lofty home to become a Man who brought salvation from their stubborn sinful nature, then went back to heaven to rule as King and sent His Spirit, His very Life, to live in them.
they were given a whole new breath of life from God Himself as they believed, called the Holy Spirit. back in Genesis, God breathed into Adam to make him alive. now in the New Testament, God breathes into us to give us eternal life!
this is no ordinary religion!
are you alive? are you born again, breathed-into again? Jesus said,
"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
John 3:3
John later wrote:
"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God... Everyone born of God overcomes the world... Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
1 John 5:1a, 4a, 5
how is your pulse today?
are you still dead? you were given the breath of life by God when you arrived on the earth as a baby, but have you accepted the new, eternal life of Jesus? if not, you're a dead man walking. you are destined for eternal separation from God. PLEASE don't stay on that path! be one of the 'few' who find the small gate and walk the narrow path of following Jesus! Matthew 7:13-14
are you barely breathing? did you accept Jesus' life, but now you're living farther and farther apart from Him? are you in danger of rejecting Him all over again? Hebrews 10:26-27 says this: "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." don't fall for the idea that you can just say some little 'prayer' that makes everything better; Jesus is to be King of your life.
or are you someone who believes but keeps falling for Satan's temptation, struggling and losing? or maybe you are being careless with how you choose your life path? do you choose t.v. over spending time with God (i struggle with that all the time)? do you get so busy with life that you neglect to read His word? do you fail to go to Him for advice? 1 Corinthians 3:15 says this about building your life with careless, inferior materials: "If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."
don't you want to be triumphant, not just making it by the skin of your teeth? it will be your loss. your life could have been abundant and full, but if you're barely breathing, it's like you're choosing to walk around everywhere with a big oxygen tank strapped on when you could take it off and breathe freely!
or hopefully, are you fully alive?? have you accepted Jesus as your King and now live as His child, accepting His purification, choosing to love Him daily, remembering His sacrifice? are you breathing His Spirit?
Jesus wants this for you; that's what He came for. He said in John 10:10b, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." and He is the author of life; it is His to give. it comes from putting yourself aside each day and choosing God. it comes from listening to His words and following them. it's not always happy-clappy, as my pastor used to say. hardships will come. but God sustains, and that is what a full life is all about.
i personally find that i fluctuate at barely breathing with some awesome gasps of full Spirit life. i yearn to be fully alive with God's Spirit speaking to me constantly, but i get in the way. i'm busy. i'm bored reading the Bible. i fall asleep when i try to pray. i'm distracted by life and it's worries. i'm clinging to life here on earth when i should be living with my eyes on Christ. i get scared of physical pain... the list goes on. do you have a list like that?
i pray that you will join me on the journey to full shining life in Christ. if you haven't accepted Jesus as your King yet, this Easter season is an appropriate time to do it! Jesus didn't stay dead!!! and you won't either if you accept Him! take on His life, accept His Spirit to live in your heart. and join me on the narrow road, striving for full life with no oxygen tanks!
when Jesus died on the cross on Good Friday, He was dead. DEAD dead. no life. no pulse. no breath. He was dead before the soldiers came by to make sure He was dead by spearing His side, as they did at every crucifixion.
it was a dark day, literally, when God died. He had been hanging in agony on the cross for 6 hours (i can barely manage the first 3 seconds when i accidentally smash my finger!), finishing His work of bringing God's message and then paying the punishment for what we do. the sky was black, the curtain in the Jewish temple spontaneously tore in half, and dead people rose from the grave all over town!
this was no ordinary death!
His disciples went into hiding. they were devastated. the guy they thought was going to save them all from the Roman occupation, the guy who was supposed to be the reigning Messiah, the guy they'd followed in spite of ridicule and opposition, the guy they'd hung all their hope on.... was dead. and on Sunday morning, after the Sabbath rest (which probably wasn't too restful for most), they were huddled in a room, probably feeling utterly alone in the world.
some women disciples set out around sunrise to visit the tomb. the Romans had put guards around the tomb; i wonder if any of the guards contemplated Jesus' claim of rising again as he stood there all night...
but when the women arrived, the guards were nowhere to be found. they had been shocked by an earthquake as a hugely imposing, brilliant-as-lightning angel of the Lord came from heaven and singlehandedly rolled away the stone from the entrance, then sat on it. in short, the burly Roman guards fainted, then ran away.
instead, the women found the angel, who apparently looked a little more normal, because they weren't quite convinced by him telling them Jesus had risen. after she had fetched Peter and John and they all looked at the curiously empty tomb, Jesus Himself appeared to her and she believed.
this was no ordinary gravesite!
Jesus was ALIVE! after all the agony, after dying till He was dead on the cross for all to see, He was alive again! and He was alive by His own power! it's one thing when Jesus raised others from the dead; it's a completely different story when He raises His own dead self from the grave! He had breath. He had a pulse. He had scars from the cross to prove He was who He said He was. and He stuck around proving Himself and continuing His teaching for 40 days... then one day, as His followers looked on, He rose Himself right into the sky, finally disappearing behind a cloud! Acts 1:9
this was no ordinary guy!
after He left, His followers gathered together, praying, and as they did, the Spirit of God came into their room like a blast of wind, leaving little tongues of fire on their heads, and enabling them to speak the gospel to foreigners in those foreign languages. Acts 2:1-12
there was a new Life living in the followers of Jesus. it was His life. they didn't serve a man who was just a good guy who then died; they had chosen to follow the Man who had created the universe, then left His lofty home to become a Man who brought salvation from their stubborn sinful nature, then went back to heaven to rule as King and sent His Spirit, His very Life, to live in them.
they were given a whole new breath of life from God Himself as they believed, called the Holy Spirit. back in Genesis, God breathed into Adam to make him alive. now in the New Testament, God breathes into us to give us eternal life!
this is no ordinary religion!
are you alive? are you born again, breathed-into again? Jesus said,
"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
John 3:3
John later wrote:
"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God... Everyone born of God overcomes the world... Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
1 John 5:1a, 4a, 5
how is your pulse today?
are you still dead? you were given the breath of life by God when you arrived on the earth as a baby, but have you accepted the new, eternal life of Jesus? if not, you're a dead man walking. you are destined for eternal separation from God. PLEASE don't stay on that path! be one of the 'few' who find the small gate and walk the narrow path of following Jesus! Matthew 7:13-14
are you barely breathing? did you accept Jesus' life, but now you're living farther and farther apart from Him? are you in danger of rejecting Him all over again? Hebrews 10:26-27 says this: "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." don't fall for the idea that you can just say some little 'prayer' that makes everything better; Jesus is to be King of your life.
or are you someone who believes but keeps falling for Satan's temptation, struggling and losing? or maybe you are being careless with how you choose your life path? do you choose t.v. over spending time with God (i struggle with that all the time)? do you get so busy with life that you neglect to read His word? do you fail to go to Him for advice? 1 Corinthians 3:15 says this about building your life with careless, inferior materials: "If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."
don't you want to be triumphant, not just making it by the skin of your teeth? it will be your loss. your life could have been abundant and full, but if you're barely breathing, it's like you're choosing to walk around everywhere with a big oxygen tank strapped on when you could take it off and breathe freely!
or hopefully, are you fully alive?? have you accepted Jesus as your King and now live as His child, accepting His purification, choosing to love Him daily, remembering His sacrifice? are you breathing His Spirit?
Jesus wants this for you; that's what He came for. He said in John 10:10b, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." and He is the author of life; it is His to give. it comes from putting yourself aside each day and choosing God. it comes from listening to His words and following them. it's not always happy-clappy, as my pastor used to say. hardships will come. but God sustains, and that is what a full life is all about.
i personally find that i fluctuate at barely breathing with some awesome gasps of full Spirit life. i yearn to be fully alive with God's Spirit speaking to me constantly, but i get in the way. i'm busy. i'm bored reading the Bible. i fall asleep when i try to pray. i'm distracted by life and it's worries. i'm clinging to life here on earth when i should be living with my eyes on Christ. i get scared of physical pain... the list goes on. do you have a list like that?
i pray that you will join me on the journey to full shining life in Christ. if you haven't accepted Jesus as your King yet, this Easter season is an appropriate time to do it! Jesus didn't stay dead!!! and you won't either if you accept Him! take on His life, accept His Spirit to live in your heart. and join me on the narrow road, striving for full life with no oxygen tanks!
Wow! I truly struggle with the same things. Thanks for writing this awesome, Spirit-filled blog.
ReplyDeleteYour husband,
Orlondo