Resurrection Is The Story Of Man, From Its Beginning To It Present

                                                 When The Door Slams

As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world's interest in me has also died. It doesn't matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God's peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God. (Galatians 6:14-16 NLT)    

            Jesus laid both his teachings and himself on the cross. and answered the issue of "why?" History is nailed together! Literally it is! The story of man, from its beginning to its present, is so varied and disconnected that it had to be nailed together to give it continuity. Ever since the nail was driven, the human story reads more smoothly. Since then, there is a vital interrelatedness between its widely separated parts. Since then, we who choose to bear his cross know why we are on the planet. We have stared into the face of the Medusa and won. There is no "why" question for us. No wonder our lives are God's great Gloria! No wonder the apostle tells us, "Speak to each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19). The cross answers emptiness with  peace in mind--harmony.

            Is it time to raise the cross in the middle of our lives? We must be careful before we answer. His cross will not coexist with our present way of life. We may not raise the cross yet ignore it in all our petty social involvements. Once we salute it momentarily we must serve it hourly for the rest of our lives. The cross is the supreme example of righteousness and can never belong to the person who will not show it supreme respect. 

            God has placed the cross in history. People have found contingency in that cross. Just as history's finest hour was the hour of Calvary, so our greatest moment will be that small quantum of time when we say with Paul, "The teaching about the cross is foolishness to those who are being lost, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18). 

            Think about this: The crucifixion invites us to complete the cycle of human failure and   redemption. Each of us is created by God. Then, without exception, each of us moves away from the righteousness in which we were created. Then comes his invitation, issued by his cross, to return by way of Christ's sacrifice to fellowship with our Father and savor everlasting life.

            Affirmation: You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross (Colossians 2:13-15). 

            Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin.                       Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.  

                                                            Never Rest Ministries                   

Ignorant And Foolish People Are Watching Every Move You Make

                                                 When The Door Slam

If you explain these things to the brothers and sister, Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed. Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives tales. Instead, Train yourself to be godly.             (1 Timothy 4:6-7 NLT)   

            It is important that you live your Christian faith sincerely, not just put on a show when you think people are watching. However, like it or not, people are watching you all the time and constantly judging whether you are living what you preach. This includes fellow believers and your own children. That's why Paul said, "Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity" (1Timothy 4:12). 

            Unbelievers are watching too-both the curious who are attracted to the Gospel and the antagonistic who are looking for an excuse to criticize the faith. Peter refers to them, saying, "It is God's will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you" (1 Peter 2:15). 

            Think about this: People are constantly watching true Christians. It can't be avoided. In fact, it's God's plan-one of His chief ways of letting the world see what the Gospel can do for a true believer. Jesus said that believers were the light of the world, a city set on a hilltop (raised up like a stage), where everyone could see them and think about them. 

            And people are especially watching you when you go through hardship, whether they are misfortunes, or illnesses, or persecution. Paul said, "God has displayed us...for we have been made a spectacle to the world" (1 Corinthians 4:9 NKJV). How you act when you are suffering communicates more effectively than a testimony.

            Affirmation: But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For "Who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But have the mind of Christ.                                                             (1 Corinthians 2:14-16 NKJV).     

           Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin.         Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.   

                                                    Never Rest 

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Out Of The Darkness, A Bright Light Shone

                                                 When The Door Slams

Why is life given to a man whose past is hidden, whom God has hedged in? I sigh when food is put before me, and my groans pour out like water. For the thing I feared has overtaken me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. I cannot relax or be still; I have no rest, for trouble comes.                                                     (Job 3:23-26 HCSB)  

            No one is exempt from tragedy or disappointment--God himself was not exempt. Jesus offered no immunity, no way out of the unfairness, but rather a way through it to the other side. Just as Good Friday demolished the instinctive belief that life is supposed to be fair, Resurrection Sunday followed with its startling clue to the riddle of the universe. Out of the darkness, a bright light shone. 

            The primal desire for fairness dies hard, and it should. Who among us does not sometimes yearn for more justice in this world here and now? Secretly, I yearn for a world "fault proof" against disappointment, a world where my Blogs page will always find acceptance and my body does not grow old and weak.....But if I stake my faith on such a fault-proof earth, my faith will let me down. Even the greatest of miracles do not resolve the problems of this earth: all people who find physical healing eventually die. 

            Think about this: We need more than miracles. We need a new heaven and a new earth, and until we have those, unfairness will not disappear.....The Cross of Christ may have overcome evil, but it did not overcome unfairness. For that, Resurrection is required. Someday, God will restore all physical healings to its proper place under His reign. Until then, it is a good thing to remember that we live out our day on Resurrection Saturday.                                     (Read: Mark 15:27-47; 16:1-20)

           Confession: When it was noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Mark 15:33-34).                          

            Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin.                        Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness. 

                                                   Never Rest Minister