Power of the Resurrection

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 53:1-5
Key Verse: Isaiah 53:5 - But He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

When a dear and faithful servant of the church learned of his terminal illness, he requested that the headstone upon his grave bear the words of 1 Corinthians 15:55: “O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?”. This man’s faith allowed him to claim these words before he passed away.
The verses following this passage explain his confidence: “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57)
Not only did Jesus bear the weight of our sins upon the cross, He also accepted and withstood the pain of death. In one miraculous event, He changed the process of dying. No longer would His creation have to experience the fear, anguish, and pain associated with death. His sacrifice established a choice for us all - eternal life or eternal death.
Why would someone choose eternal death? We cannot know. Is it so difficult to believe in the power of God and the event of Jesus’ resurrection? For some, it must be.
As you consider the specific events that occurred upon the cross, thank Jesus for freeing you from the pain of death, and pray for those who refuse to acknowledge Him.

Thank You, Lord, that Your resurrection quieted the sting of death and that I have been set free because of Your sacrifice.

by: Charles F. Stanley

Love is not God, but God is love.

God is love in its highest degree. He is love rendered more than love. Love is not God, but God is love; He is full of grace, He is the plenitude of mercy - He delighteth in mercy. I believe that every flower in a garden, which is tended by a wise gardener, could tell of some particular care that the gardener takes of it. He does for the dahlia what he does not for the sunflower; somewhat is wanted by the rose that is not required by the lily; and the geranium calls for an attention which is not given to the honeysuckle. Each flower wins from the gardener a special culture. He loves us better than we love ourselves. (Charles Spurgeon)

Communion With God

"Jesus answered and said, I thank Thee, O Father." It was the habit
and life of Jesus to talk with God. May we likewise have silent
fellowship with the Father, so that often we may answer Him, and
though the world wotteth not to whom we speak, may we be responding to
that secret voice unheard of any other ear, which our own ear, opened
by the Spirit of God, recognizes with joy. What a privilege is
intimate communion with the Father of our spirits! It is a secret
hidden from the world, a joy with which even the nearest friend
intermeddleth not. This very day may our hearts be in such a state,
that when God speaks to us, we, like Jesus, may be prepared at once to
answer Him." (Charles Spurgeon)

The Greatest Commandments

This is a journal entry I made on January 13, 2010.

"Today is the date when multiple recovery efforts were mobilized for a devastating series of earthquakes that ravaged portions of Haiti. As I sit here in my recliner with a roof over my head, my stomach full, and the warm sunshine pouring in it feels like paradise. However, not very far away, one of the poorest countries in the world experienced one of the worst earthquakes ever. The death toll is at 100,000 and rising.

"The most important commandment is this.....And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these." (Mark 12:29-31)

How deep and all encompassing are these commands! These commands are big enough to guide and direct your entire life. Jesus help me! Help me fully and completely keep these commandments. I need Your help, Jesus, to do it for sin pulls at my desires daily. Let my desire be to love You and to love others with Your love."

Today, as Haiti contiues to recover, what have you done to love God with all of your being? In turn, what have you done to love your neighbor as you so generously love yourself. I'm talking to myself as well for I struggle with this all the time. We, as Christians, must be melted and moved by the love of the Father. We must see each individual we come across as Christ Himself. How different we would act if that was our viewpoint! Don't just imagine what could be. Act! Act on the love that the Father has shown to you. Then people will see that it is God loving on them and not you. All glory goes to God alone for what He has done through Jesus Christ! His death is our death, and His life is our life.

The Holy Spirit

The great King, immortal, invisible, the Divine person, called the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit: it is he that quickens the soul, or else it would lie dead for ever; it is he that makes it tender, or else it would never feel; it is he that imparts efficacy to the Word preached, or else it could never reach further than the ear; it is he who breaks the heart, it is he who makes it whole. There dwells upon this earth a mysterious Being, whose office is to renew the fallen and restore the wandering. We cannot see Him, or hear Him, yet He dwells in some of us as Lord of our nature. His chosen residence is a broken heart and a contrite spirit. (Charles Spurgeon)

Let Justice Roll Down

Starting to read the book "Let Justice Roll Down" by John Perkins.
It's a book about John Perkins' life and how he dealt with the violent
racism in Mississippi from the 1940's and on. He found that God's love
was the answer. Not an easy answer, but the right answer. The first
chapter was pretty intense. Life back then was totally different than
now. We have come a long way, but there is still work to be done.
There is still love to give, and lives to save. I pray that we may
look to the past and not forget where we came from so the we may not
make the same mistakes again. Walk in the love of Christ today.

Love God. Love others.

Brit Hume

This is a great video of a man standing in the faith and genuinely concerned about Tiger Woods and the problem he is facing. Thought it was a good mainstream testament about Christianity.