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For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)
“Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!” (Genesis 1:31)
Throughout the Biblical account of the creation, whenever God finished one aspect of creation he would exclaim, “It is good”. There was, however, one time when he not only said “it is good”, he added it is ‘VERY good’. That time was just after he created mankind. The rolling plains and majestic mountains were good. The sea life and land life was good. But man and woman? They were very good. The crown of God’s creation. His masterpiece
We aren’t told how long it was before we failed God. Was it a day? A week? A month? No one knows. But a time came when man and woman made a choice to disobey God and act on their own wisdom. Wisdom they were deceived into thinking was better and wiser than God’s wisdom.
Up until that time, God came in person to walk with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening. They were naked and not ashamed, completely open to God. They were perfectly comfortable with who they were, and God was completely open with them about life and goodness.
When sin entered the world everything changed except for one thing. The once fertile ground now grew thorns. Animals once tame became wild and dangerous. The shameless nakedness of man and woman was now covered physically, emotionally and spiritually. The joy of childbirth would be tarnished with the pain of labor. The only thing that didn’t change that day was God’s love for mankind.
Even though man would hide from him, God still longed for the companionship and open relationship he had with man. That’s why Jesus came. He came for the sole purpose of renewing a relationship that once was open but had now become distant.
Paul writes that Jesus came ‘so that we could be made right with God through Christ’. The word for made right is really the root word of ‘reconciled’. Jesus death and resurrection allows us to be reconciled to God. The word reconcile has its origin in a word that means ‘to make good again.’
Let that sink in. Because of Jesus, the once broken relationship we have with God is made good again! It’s not repaired. It’s not as though God is changing anything about him to stoop to our level. Jesus allows us to have the same relationship with God Adam had in the Garden of Eden. For now that means spiritually through his Spirit, but someday, physically as we spend eternity with him!
PRAYER: Father God. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for Adam to be able to walk side by side with you in the garden. I can’t wait to find out what that is like. For now, I praise you and worship you because Jesus allows us to have the relationship restored to its original condition through the cross. Empower me by your Spirit to live in the realization of the fact that you long to have a passionate love relationship with me. In Jesus name, Amen.
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. Luke 24:1
Every year about this time I’m drawn, for obvious reasons, to the end of the Gospels to read the account of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. I never want to miss the emotion of that time in the lives of those who knew Jesus personally.
We as Christ-followers must never lose sight of the emotion of that time in the lives of Jesus close personal friends. As I grow older and hopefully wiser and as more and more of my loved ones have gone on before me I get just a glimpse of the pain, the agony, the sorrow and confusion of the days leading up to ‘Resurrection Day.’
I’ve felt the heartache of losing a brother who died ‘too soon’. I stood by the bedside of my mother as she breathed her last. I’ve held a mother as she sobbed over the body of her little boy. I’ve stood by the gurney of a friend who’d been ushered into glory just hours after I’d talked with him.
Painful as those times were, none of my anguish could compare to those who watched Jesus get beaten, humiliated, stripped naked and hung on a piece of wood for all the world to watch his slow, painful death. As I write this I get goose bumps just thinking of it.
In the midst of all that trauma. In the midst of all that pain. What drove the women to the tomb before sunrise on that Sunday morning? They’d watched him be placed in the tomb. They knew there was a huge stone covering any hope of access to the body. Why didn’t they get some men to go with them? Did they try to solicit help or were the guys too broken up and scared to go out so soon after their master was murdered by a power hungry mob?
I may never know the answer. It may not even be important. In reality I have an idea what one of the reasons was for their early morning mission. It was love.
The ‘Mary’s’, and perhaps a few others, couldn’t let Jesus body be cast aside without the proper spices. They couldn’t bear to let the one who never neglected their needs be neglected at his time of biggest need. Dangerous? Perhaps. Futile? Maybe. But this was Jesus. It had to be done.
Then I ask myself this question. Where would I have been that morning? Would I have held the lantern to light the path? Would I be ready to lift the stone or fight off some Roman Guard? Or would I cower on my mat and be afraid at every noise in the night.
I hope I’d do the former. I pray that I’d be leading the way, because like the adulteress I’m not condemned. Like the blind man, I’ve received sight. My hunger is filled, my thirst is quenched. A risky walk in the dawn mist is the least I can do for my Jesus.
PRAYER: Jesus at this season of the year I’m in awe of your love and compassion for me. I’m reminded of how much you’ve given and how little I deserve. I worship you for all you have done for me. I praise you for your grace, your mercy and your forgiveness. Help me to be like the women who set aside everything else to tend to you. In your wonderful, marvelous and most holy name, Amen.
I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 1:19-20 (NLT)
Everyone has those times when they feel overwhelmed by the things before them. It may be a struggle with health, relationships, kids, finances or a whole boatload of other issues.
When we are under the stress of battle it affects every part of our bodies. Physically we get drained and weak. Emotionally we can get crabby, depressed or angry. We can start blaming others or ourselves. Spiritually we wrestle with doubts about God’s ability or desire to help us. We begin to lose confidence in ourselves and faith in others.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could be assured that you have the power you need to conquer every obstacle, overcome every enemy and solve every issue that is before you?
As Christ-followers we have all the power of God the Father at our fingertips. Imagine that! The same power it took to raise Jesus from death, roll the stone away like a pebble, calm the storm and create the world is all at our fingertips because of Jesus!
So, why don’t you feel the power? We feel powerless when we expect God to give us power according to what we see as our needs. However God gives us power according to his wisdom and power.
Think of him as a carpenter. You want your house (this life you are living) to be remodeled. You are tired of the way things are. So you ask him to change things. But remodeling is never easy, never neat and never without pain.
With all the power of the universe at his fingertips, God wants to make you into a masterpiece. But to do that he needs to change you, to remodel you, to take the old and make you new. Don’t worry. He’s a master at creating something from nothing. Give him permission to show his power in your life. It may be painful at times, but the results will be stunning!
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you for your promise that all your power can be shown in me. I pray that you would give me the courage to give you full permission to change me into the person you want me to be. I know it will be painful and fearful at times, but I trust your creative wisdom to make me into something marvelous! In Jesus name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 