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We believe that Jesus died and that he rose again. So, because of him, God will raise with Jesus those who have died. 1 Thessalonians 4:14 (NCV)
“It’s not so important what you believe. The important thing is that you believe something.” Ever heard someone say something similar to that? To think that belief is more important than the validity of the object believed in is ludicrous at best and dangerous in most cases.
I could say I believe I can fly. I could believe is with all my heart. But one jump from the roof will prove me dreadfully wrong. I don’t need to go to that extreme. I know from what I’ve heard and learned and seen in life that jumping from the roof will bring me quickly to the ground and may cause injury or even death. My decision NOT to jump off the roof is based on quantifiable fact.
Faith works in me the same way. There are many religions that speak of some sort of life after death. Many systems of belief encourage morality and philanthropy. But the question that has to be asked of each of these belief systems is, “Where’s the proof? What evidence can you provide that insures I will live forever?” When it really comes down to it, that’s what each of us wants. In life we’d like money and health and vibrant, passionate relationships. But what happens after life can haunt us. It’s not knowing what happens after we die that puts the fear of death in the number one place of terror in our hearts.
That’s what sets us apart as Christ-followers. Jesus rose from the dead. There is a plethora of evidence, scientific and historic, that proves that point. Jesus is the only religious leader that not only stated he would rise from the dead, but actually did it. Not only did he say he would rise from the dead, he promised us that some day he would return for us.
If Jesus did what he said he would do by rising from the dead, we can be assured that his other promises will come true as well. Promises to always be with us. Promises to forgive us, show mercy to us and love us. Most of all, the promise that he will return one day and bring us to himself. We will rise again! How do we know? First of all our leader, Jesus Christ, did. Secondly, he told us we would rise from the dead. If it was true of him, it will be true of us. We will live forever. Death will have no victory over us because Jesus defeated death once and for all.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Thank you for offering me forgiveness for my sin. Thank you for fulfilling every promise you have ever made to me. Thank you for rising from the dead so that I can be assured I will live forever. In you I put my trust because no one else can do for me what you do. In your name I pray, Amen.
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NLT)
Some of the toughest choices father’s make are in regards to their children. We, especially as men, grow up with dreams. We play games in which we always want to come out the winner. As we grow older, reality sets in. Sometimes it sets in hard. We can’t keep rewinding the game clock until the ball swishes through the basket or goes into the empty net or splits the uprights.
It’s no wonder then, that when our son(s) come along the dreams start over again. No offense against the women of our world. They have accomplished great things, fantastic things. Even so, there’s something special about the bond between a man and his son, just as there is between a woman and her daughter. Gender doesn’t really matter. Parents grow up with the hope that their children will somehow attain all they had hoped to attain when they were kids. But sometimes life deals cruel blows.
It’s always been that way really. Abraham had the tough decision to send Ishmael and his mother into the wilderness. Later he had to lay his son of promise, Isaac, on an altar. Only the last minute call of an angel and rustling of a ram in the thicket saved Isaac from being offered up as a sacrifice.
David had the tough choice of going to war against his son, Absalom. Even though he pled for the safe return of his son, the young rebel was killed in battle.
But perhaps the toughest test of love came from God himself. From the day he decided to create this world we live on he longed for relationship. He created beauty from trees and flowers, majesty from mountains and valleys, power from weather and the seas and the wonder of life from innumerable life forms, both seen and unseen.
All that he created gave him great joy. He looked and saw it was good. But it lacked the one thing he longed for above all else. It lacked relationship. So God created mankind to bring him relationship the relationship he’d always wanted. But mankind failed. There was only one thing Father God could do to restore that relationship. It was the hardest thing any of us parents would be called upon to do. He had to give up his only son.
He looked down through the ages and saw the pain his son would suffer. He saw the guilt that would be placed on his shoulders. He saw the physical and emotional abuse that would be executed on his innocent son so that my sins could be forgiven. He watched him die on a tree so I could live forever.
That’s love. That’s tough love. Tough love says I’ll do whatever it takes. Tough love says I’ll give up whatever I need to get the relationship I want to have with you. That’s what God is saying to each of us. He gave all he had so he could have a relationship with you. All he asks in return is for your love through obedience to his word.
PRAYER: Father God, as a parent I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to give up a son so others could live. Especially when the ones who benefit have nothing to give in return. I have nothing to offer you in thanks for your salvation. Thank you for loving me anyway. Thank you for sending Jesus so I can have a relationship with you. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 (NLT)
All of us dream, at one point or another, of being well-known for some type of achievement. We play out our dreams as children. Dreams of being ‘cops or robbers’ or being star athletes or president of the United States. Dreams are the stuff life is made of. As we get older our dreams become more realistic. Sometimes they are buried in the midst of failure and the wounds we receive from others that tell us we’ll never amount to anything…and we believe them. But deep inside of us we never stop dreaming of a better tomorrow.
One day, John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness. He cousin, Jesus the Christ, came out to hear him preach. Even though they were cousins and just a few months apart we don’t really know much about their lives together as children. We do know that John had a special mission to fulfill. His ‘dream’ was to be a preacher, his mission was to make known to others the coming of Messiah.
When John saw Jesus coming he proclaimed, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” He could have called him the great healer, for many were healed by his touch. He could have called him a great teacher. Even those who don’t acknowledge him as the son of God admit that he was a tremendous teacher. His methods are still followed today! John even could have proclaimed ‘Look, it’s the creator of the world!”
But he didn’t. John’s words spoke far more loudly of whom Jesus was, “the Lamb of God.” The very term brought a visual that only the Jews of that time could fully understand. When a lamb was born it was checked for flaws. If it was a perfect lamb it was kept until the day of sacrifice. It’s only real purpose in life was to die on the altar for the sins of God’s people.
Jesus was the Lamb of God. He wasn’t born to heal us. He wasn’t born to free us from emotional, physical or political oppression. He wasn’t born to make a great name for himself. He was born to die. His sole purpose for coming was to die for my sin. Life on this earth will be filled with calamity and pain and hardship. There will be days, even years filled with tears more than laughter. But in the midst of all we go through our one constant that we can rely on is that God loved us enough to send Jesus to die so we could live. That was the plan.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, once again I come to you in praise and worship for your desire to come to earth just to die for me. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with life that I forget the huge price you paid for me. I ask that today, you would help me to be in constant remembrance that your sole purpose for coming was to die for me. Let that be my encouragement as I face today’s challenges. In your name I pray, Amen.
But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. Acts 2:23 (NLT)
One of my favorite movies of all time is Apollo 13. I watched the drama of the moon bound spacecraft hobbling back to earth after an explosion ‘first-hand’ on television. Still, when I watch the movie I still feel that twinge of ‘will they make it?’ surging through me. It amazes me how this group of people (some on planet earth, some thousands of miles away on a crippled hunk of metal) could work together to figure out how to solve the crisis.
Apollo 13 is a perfect example of a ‘successful failure’. They didn’t get to the moon and back safely. But they did get back safely after revamping their plans. True heroics is the ability to go with plan ‘B’ or ‘C’ when plan ‘A’ is no longer an option. To carry on when failure tells you success isn’t possible.
Although the story of Apollo 13 is intriguing, the story of salvation through Jesus Christ is even more so. Were we, as humans, able to look into the future and see how some of our decisions would play out, we’d no doubt change our plans to avoid failure. God didn’t do that.
Long before Adam was a glint in his eye he knew you would be where you are right now, while you are reading this. The website you looked at last night? He knew you’d visit there too. And the cruel words you said to or about that person at work, or in the next locker at school? Yep. He knew about that too.
God knew, long before what we call time, that you’d disobey him. He knew every failure you’d make. He knew every time you’d reject his quiet voice telling you to follow him. Even so, he made two decisions. One was to form you in your mothers’ womb in his very image. The other was to provide a way for you to escape a life bound by sin and struggle and pain.
God isn’t surprised when you fail and he’s not about to give up on you when you reject him. Nothing you can do will surprise him. Nothing you’ve done has made him give up on you. You can never escape his love and his forgiveness and grace is there for the asking.
Apollo 13 is an example of a good plan diverted by failure but ending in success. Salvation through Jesus Christ is an example of a good plan unaffected by failure and ending in a rich relationship with God and eternal life after we die!
PRAYER: Father God, there are so many times when I fail you. I even surprise myself by my weakness and inability to do the things I want to do! Thank you for the cross. Thank you that even though you knew I’d fail you went ahead and made me in your image. Thank you that your plan isn’t affected by my weakness. Empower me by your spirit to live a life pleasing to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. John 5:28-29
Have you ever been in a large room with a large group of people? There are conversations going on all around you. Some are a little louder than others. Some are laughing, some engaged in serious conversation.
Suddenly, in the midst of all the noise you hear the voice of your loved one. Not calling you necessarily. Their voice doesn’t even have to be louder than the others. You hear it because it’s a voice of distinction. It’s a voice you know because you love that person. You’ve talked with that person during intimate times and while discussing the mundane things of life. You respond because you have a love relationship with the owner of that voice.
Someday, and perhaps soon, Jesus will return to earth. He’ll come to gather up those who recognize his voice. He’ll call them from the grave that has held them. With one word they will come forth because they will recognize the voice of the one whom they love.
These are the ones who have walked with Jesus during the tough times of life. They’ve followed his ways when the world screamed at them to follow them. They have struggled. Some have fallen, often. But every time they failed they would return to him for forgiveness and then try again to change their ways. Some were victorious in areas of their lives. Some struggled from the day of their birth to the time their earthly bodies could no longer hold them. Regardless of the struggles, they respond because they know his voice as the one they love. This was the voice of one in whom they built a relationship.
Sadly, there will be others who will come forth. These are the ones who heard the voice once or twice but never responded. They chose the way of the world rather than the way of God. They worked hard to make sure that they enjoyed all the ‘good things of life’. They may have followed religion. They may have been spiritual. But they never responded to the call of Jesus to come to him for forgiveness.
They will respond to his voice now. They won’t respond because they recognize him. They will respond because Jesus is Lord of all. He is Lord over those who have responded to him in life. He is Lord over those who have rejected him in life but will come forth in death.
Those who have built a relationship with Jesus in life will be called forth to join him for eternity. Those who have not built a relationship with him in life will be sent into eternity without him,
Today, Jesus is calling you. He’s calling you to enter into a relationship with him. He’s calling you to receive the forgiveness and mercy and grace that comes freely because of his death and resurrection. He’s asking you to let him enter into your life. Someday, and someday soon He’ll call you again. This time, He won’t call you and ask to invite him into your life, He’ll call you to enter into his home. A home that will last for eternity. A home that is free of sin and sorrow and sickness and death.
Will you answer his voice today? Will you accept his invitation now to join in relationship with him based on forgiveness and mercy and grace? Let him live with you now so you can live with him in eternity.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I’ve heard your voice on occasion. I’ve heard about you. I’ve even attended places that teach about you and I’ve sung your songs. But I’ve never asked you to forgive me of my sin. I’ve never chosen to follow you in obedience built on relationship and love. I’m asking you now. Forgive me of my sin. Enter into my life now so I can spend eternity with you. In your name I pray. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 