Kingdom Come

Happy Easter! enjoy the video

Kingdom Come - Nicole C. Mullen

Thanks to one of our good friends Kayla

Happy Easter From Our Family To Yours!

We at Blind For Christ Wish Everybody A Very Happy and Blessed Easter Holiday.

 He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.

~ Matthew 28:6, NLT

In Christ,
Tyler Sherck
BFC Webmaster

Positive Thought For 03-31-13

Positive Thought For Easter Sunday:

I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today;
I know that He is living, whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him He’s always near.
—Alfred Ackley © Renewal 1961. The Rodeheaver Company

 

The empty cross and the empty tomb provide a full salvation.

Heedfulness or Hypocrisy in Ourselves?

If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death —1 John 5:16

If we are not heedful and pay no attention to the way the Spirit of God works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. We see where other people are failing, and then we take our discernment and turn it into comments of ridicule and criticism, instead of turning it into intercession on their behalf. God reveals this truth about others to us not through the sharpness of our minds but through the direct penetration of His Spirit. If we are not attentive, we will be completely unaware of the source of the discernment God has given us, becoming critical of others and forgetting that God says, “. . . he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” Be careful that you don’t become a hypocrite by spending all your time trying to get others right with God before you worship Him yourself.
One of the most subtle and illusive burdens God ever places on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning others. He gives us discernment so that we may accept the responsibility for those souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them (see Philippians 2:5). We should intercede in accordance with what God says He will give us, namely, “life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” It is not that we are able to bring God into contact with our minds, but that we awaken ourselves to the point where God is able to convey His mind to us regarding the people for whom we intercede.
Can Jesus Christ see the agony of His soul in us? He can’t unless we are so closely identified with Him that we have His view concerning the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ will be completely and overwhelmingly satisfied with us as intercessors.

Our Daily Bread 03-31-13

When the first flowers of spring bloomed in our yard, my 5-year-old son waded into a patch of daffodils. He noticed some debris from plants that had expired months before and remarked, “Mom, when I see something dead, it reminds me of Easter because Jesus died on the cross.” I replied, “When I see something alive—like the daffodils—it reminds me that Jesus came back to life!”
One reason we know Jesus rose from the grave is that, according to the gospel of Luke, He approached two travelers headed to Emmaus 3 days after His crucifixion. Jesus walked with them; He ate dinner with them; He even gave them a lesson in Old Testament prophecy (24:15-27). This encounter showed the travelers that Jesus conquered the grave—He had risen from the dead. As a result, the pair returned to Jerusalem and told the disciples, “The Lord is risen indeed!” (v.34).
If Jesus had not come back to life, our faith as Christians would be pointless, and we would still be under the penalty of our sin (1 Cor. 15:17). However, the Bible tells us that Jesus “was raised to life for our justification” (Rom. 4:25 niv). Today, we can be right with God because Jesus is alive!

I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today;
I know that He is living, whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him He’s always near.
—Alfred Ackley © Renewal 1961. The Rodeheaver Company

 

The empty cross and the empty tomb provide a full salvation.

Famous Last Words

March 31, 2013

Famous Last Words

Genesis 49:1-28

Read "Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first in rank and first in power. But you are as unruly as a flood, and you will be first no longer. For you went to bed with my wife; you defiled my marriage couch. . . . "Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you. Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor." (Genesis 49:3-4, 8-10)

Reflect Jacob spoke to his sons individually, blessing some and making predictions about their futures. The way the men had lived their lives played an important part in Jacob's prophecies. The oldest son was supposed to receive a double inheritance, but Reuben lost his special honor because of his actions. Unruly and untrustworthy, especially in his younger days, he had gone so far as to sleep with one of his father's concubines. Jacob could not give the birthright blessing to such a dishonorable son. Judah had sold Joseph into slavery and tried to defraud his daughter-in-law. So why did Jacob grant him this blessing? Judah had demonstrated a dramatic change of character (Genesis 44:33-34). Moreover, God had chosen Judah to be the ancestor of Israel's line of kings. This would fulfill Jacob's words, "The scepter will not depart from Judah." Judah's line would produce the promised Messiah, Jesus. Like Jacob's sons, our pasts also affect our present and future. By sunrise tomorrow, our actions of today will have become part of the past. Yet they will already have begun to affect the future.

Respond What actions can you choose or avoid today that will positively shape your future?

Matthew 28:6-20

Matthew 28

6 He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.7 And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you."
  8 The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel's message.9 And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him.10 Then Jesus said to them, "Don't be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there."

The Report of the Guard
11 As the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and told the leading priests what had happened.12 A meeting with the elders was called, and they decided to give the soldiers a large bribe.13 They told the soldiers, "You must say, 'Jesus' disciples came during the night while we were sleeping, and they stole his body.'14 If the governor hears about it, we'll stand up for you so you won't get in trouble."15 So the guards accepted the bribe and said what they were told to say. Their story spread widely among the Jews, and they still tell it today.

The Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.17 When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!
  18 Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,* baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

A New Genesis

John 20:1-23

A couple of years ago, as I was driving our son Wyatt to kindergarten, our conversation turned to resurrection. Understandably, Wyatt was perplexed about what it meant and how it worked. Finally, he asked the question for which he most wanted an answer. “Dad,” he asked, “when God raises us from the dead, are we going to be really alive? Or just alive in our head?”

Often, we think of Jesus’ resurrection as the exclamation point on God’s work, its primary purpose being to point back and confirm all that the Father and the Son had done. However, John offers Jesus’ resurrection not as the conclusion of God’s activity, but as the new beginning of God’s cosmic action to restore His world.

From John’s opening line (“In the beginning”), we get the sense that he is recasting the creation narrative (John 1:1). His themes of new creation (water to wine, death to life, etc.) continue until we arrive with Jesus praying in a garden—dusting off memories of Eden (John 19:41). Finally, after Jesus has been crucified and the disciples have scattered and all seems lost, we hear John’s pronounced refrain: “On the first day of the week.” Jesus walked out of the tomb (John 20:1 NIV). God began His Genesis work, making His world, on the first day of the week. Now, again, Jesus commences a new creation (a second creation), remaking His world on a new first day.

Death has really broken loose in God’s world. We really know death in our marriages and our hearts and our neighborhoods. And Jesus is re-creating all of it, every bit, crushing death and bringing life. Really!

Into every dark corner of your heart, into loneliness and fear and shame, into despair and greed and lust, into ruin and hopelessness and everything that death breeds, know this: Jesus crushed darkness and death. Rise up and live.

— Winn Collier

Read John 20 and note the physicality of the passage. What did Jesus do? Whom did Jesus meet? How did Jesus encounter people?

Where do you most need a new creation? What does it mean for you to open your heart up to God’s new creation?

Positive Thought For 03-30-13

Here Is Today's Positive Thought For Today:

Dear Lord, thank You for sacrificing Your life for our
sins so that we might live. We’re thankful that because
You died and rose again, we can have assurance that
one day we’ll be with You in a place of no more death.

We owed a debt we couldn’t pay; Jesus paid a debt He didn’t owe.

Holiness or Hardness Toward God?

He . . . wondered that there was no intercessor . . . —Isaiah 59:16

The reason many of us stop praying and become hard toward God is that we only have an emotional interest in prayer. It sounds good to say that we pray, and we read books on prayer which tell us that prayer is beneficial— that our minds are quieted and our souls are uplifted when we pray. But Isaiah implied in this verse that God is amazed at such thoughts about prayer.
Worship and intercession must go together; one is impossible without the other. Intercession means raising ourselves up to the point of getting the mind of Christ regarding the person for whom we are praying (see Philippians 2:5). Instead of worshiping God, we recite speeches to God about how prayer is supposed to work. Are we worshiping God or disputing Him when we say, “But God, I just don’t see how you are going to do this”? This is a sure sign that we are not worshiping. When we lose sight of God, we become hard and dogmatic. We throw our petitions at His throne and dictate to Him what we want Him to do. We don’t worship God, nor do we seek to conform our minds to the mind of Christ. And if we are hard toward God, we will become hard toward other people.
Are we worshiping God in a way that will raise us up to where we can take hold of Him, having such intimate contact with Him that we know His mind about the ones for whom we pray? Are we living in a holy relationship with God, or have we become hard and dogmatic?
Do you find yourself thinking that there is no one interceding properly? Then be that person yourself. Be a person who worships God and lives in a holy relationship with Him. Get involved in the real work of intercession, remembering that it truly is work-work that demands all your energy, but work which has no hidden pitfalls. Preaching the gospel has its share of pitfalls, but intercessory prayer has none whatsoever.

Jacob's Blessings

March 30, 2013

Jacob's Blessings

Genesis 48:1-22

Read Joseph moved the boys, who were at their grandfather's knees, and he bowed with his face to the ground. Then he positioned the boys in front of Jacob. With his right hand he directed Ephraim toward Jacob's left hand, and with his left hand he put Manasseh at Jacob's right hand. But Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys' heads. He put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger boy, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, though he was the firstborn. (Genesis 48:12-14)

Reflect When Joseph became a slave, Jacob thought he was dead and wept in despair (Genesis 37:34). But eventually God's plan allowed Jacob to regain not only his son but his grandchildren as well. This dramatic turn of events shows that circumstances are never beyond God's reach. Jacob regained his son. Job got a new family (Job 42:10-17). Mary and Martha regained their brother Lazarus (John 11:1-44). We need never despair because we belong to a loving God. We don't yet know what good he may bring out of a seemingly hopeless situation. Jacob included Joseph's sons in his blessings. These verbal blessings were very important, carrying the weight of a "last will and testament." Jacob surprised Joseph by giving Ephraim the greater blessing, even though he was younger. When Joseph tried to correct his father, Jacob refused to listen because God had told him that Ephraim would become greater. Then Jacob blessed Joseph, the son he thought he would never see again. God often works in unexpected ways. He certainly did when he restored Joseph to his family. And when God chooses people to be part of his plans, he always goes deeper than appearance, tradition, or position. He sometimes surprises us by choosing the person that human reasoning sets aside.

Respond God can use you to carry out his plans, even if you don't think you have all the qualifications or face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Look for how God can work through you and for you in every situation, even those that seem hopeless.

Romans 5:8-21

Romans 5

8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.9 And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's condemnation.10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Adam and Christ Contrasted
12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break.14 Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come.15 But there is a great difference between Adam's sin and God's gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.16 And the result of God's gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man's sin. For Adam's sin led to condemnation, but God's free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
  18 Yes, Adam's one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.
  20 God's law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God's wonderful grace became more abundant.21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God's wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Our Daily Bread For 03-30-13

READ: Matthew 28:1-10

O Death, where is your sting? —1 Corinthians 15:55

The radio ad for an upcoming seminar sounded intriguing. The announcer said, “You can beat death—for good! Attend my seminar and I’ll show you how.” I wondered for a few moments what the speaker would claim could beat death and what his suggestions might be. Perhaps something about diet or exercise or freezing our bodies? After listening a little longer, though, I realized he had said, “You can beat debt—for good.”

The most wonderful news is that we can beat death because Jesus paid our debt! (1 Cor. 15:55-57). Our debt of sin meant separation from God, but Jesus willingly gave up His life and was crucified on a cross to pay what we owed. As Mary Magdalene and another Mary went to the tomb on the third day to anoint His body, an angel told them: “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said” (Matt. 28:6). With great joy they ran to bring His disciples the word. On their way, Jesus met them and said, “Rejoice!” (v.9). Jesus had risen, and His followers had reason for rejoicing.

Jesus has removed the sting of death (1 Cor. 15:55). Now we too have victory by believing in the Son of God’s death and resurrection for us. Through Jesus’ perfect work, we can beat death—for good! —Anne Cetas

Dear Lord, thank You for sacrificing Your life for our
sins so that we might live. We’re thankful that because
You died and rose again, we can have assurance that
one day we’ll be with You in a place of no more death.

We owed a debt we couldn’t pay; Jesus paid a debt He didn’t owe.

True Freedom

John 8:31-38

Many countries annually exercise their freedom to literally change time. I experienced this timely change when I was in the US a few years ago. During my visit in the spring, I witnessed Daylight Savings Time—a national law that calls for all clocks to be set back by one hour. It’s designed to save energy, and it also leads to lighter mornings for children who are heading to school. Interesting!

In our postmodern world, freedom to change is a treasured commodity. It goes hand in hand with individual rights. We see freedom as the liberty to follow our preferences, the ability to do whatever we want. No constraints. No rules.

Sound good?

The Bible reveals that this isn’t real freedom. In John 8:34, Jesus asserts, “Everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” In other words, leading a self-centered life—to do our own will, to follow our willful desires and preferences—will lead to bondage to sin. Not freedom. But if we remain faithful to God’s teaching, then we “will know the truth, and the truth will set [us] free” (John 8:32).

Satan has switched the price tags in the world. He makes the priceless stuff that brings eternal joy look worthless, while the junk that leads to addiction and enslavement he presents in attractive packaging. We desperately need God’s truth—truth that enables us to see things in their true perspective.

The apostle John, in chapter 8 of his gospel, presents an interesting cause-and-effect pattern. To experience freedom, we must first know the truth. To know the truth, we must first obey God’s Word. The initial step to freedom begins with obedience. Counterintuitive? Yes. But the fact remains that true freedom is only possible when we live under God’s loving authority.

— Poh Fang Chia

Read Psalm 119:45 to discover where we find real freedom.

What are some commandments from God that lead to freedom? What keeps you from experiencing true freedom in Jesus?

Positive Thought For 03-29-13

Here is Today's Positive Thought For Today:

I have been to the cross where my Savior died,
And all of my life is made new—
In the person of Him I am crucified.
I have been to the cross. Have you?
—Helen Frazee-Bower © 1956 Helen Frazee-Bower

Jesus died that we might live.

Our Lord’s Surprise Visits

You also be ready . . . —Luke 12:40

A Christian worker’s greatest need is a readiness to face Jesus Christ at any and every turn. This is not easy, no matter what our experience has been. This battle is not against sin, difficulties, or circumstances, but against being so absorbed in our service to Jesus Christ that we are not ready to face Jesus Himself at every turn. The greatest need is not facing our beliefs or doctrines, or even facing the question of whether or not we are of any use to Him, but the need is to face Him.
Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him; He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical situations. The only way a servant can remain true to God is to be ready for the Lord’s surprise visits. This readiness will not be brought about by service, but through intense spiritual reality, expecting Jesus Christ at every turn. This sense of expectation will give our life the attitude of childlike wonder He wants it to have. If we are going to be ready for Jesus Christ, we have to stop being religious. In other words, we must stop using religion as if it were some kind of a lofty lifestyle-we must be spiritually real.
If you are avoiding the call of the religious thinking of today’s world, and instead are “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2), setting your heart on what He wants, and thinking His thoughts, you will be considered impractical and a daydreamer. But when He suddenly appears in the work of the heat of the day, you will be the only one who is ready. You should trust no one, and even ignore the finest saint on earth if he blocks your sight of Jesus Christ.

A Devotional for Teens

It’s hard to believe in anything you can’t see. Why has God made it so difficult for people who would believe in him if they could only see him?
God could appear to anyone anyway he wants. But if he suddenly appeared, most people would feel forced or intimidated into following him, rather than loved into it. God wants us to respond out of love for him, not fear!

The truth is that people can see God . . . through the eyes of faith. This means taking God at his word--opening ourselves up to him. Some people say 'seeing is believing.' The truth is that 'believing is seeing.'

All of us believe in people or things we've never seen; for example, people in history, gravity, or the wind. Everyone has the capacity to believe things that aren't seen. The bottom line for most who say, 'I can't believe in something I haven't seen,' is 'I won't believe in God, because I want to run my own life.' God doesn't work that way. Each person must trust in Christ, acknowledging him as Savior.

Peter said that loving God, even though we have never seen him, will bring us 'a glorious, inexpressible joy' (1 Pet 1:8). Jesus said, 'Blessed are those who believe without seeing me' (John 20:29; see also Heb 11:1.)

'We live by believing and not by seeing' (2 Cor 5:7).

On the Road Again

March 29, 2013

On the Road Again

Genesis 46:1-27

Read So Jacob set out for Egypt with all his possessions. And when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. During the night God spoke to him in a vision. "Jacob! Jacob!" he called. "Here I am," Jacob replied. "I am God, the God of your father," the voice said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make your family into a great nation. I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring you back again. You will die in Egypt, but Joseph will be with you to close your eyes." (Genesis 46:1-4)

Reflect God told Jacob to leave his home and travel to a strange and faraway land. But God reassured him by promising to go with him and take care of him. God reminded Jacob of the covenant promise he had made to Abraham: He would be the father of a great nation (Genesis 15:1-6). While in Egypt, the Israelites did become a great nation, and Jacob's descendants eventually returned to Canaan. Jacob himself never returned to Canaan, but God promised that his descendants would return. That Jacob would die in Egypt with Joseph at his side was God's promise to Jacob that he would never know the pain of being lonely again. The book of Exodus recounts the story of Israel's slavery in Egypt for 400 years (fulfilling God's words to Abram in Genesis 15:13-16), and the book of Joshua gives an exciting account of the Israelites entering and conquering Canaan, the Promised Land. God made several promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he fulfilled them all, even though these men wavered in their faith from time to time and did not always live as they should. Fortunately, God's actions in the world will be fulfilled with or without our cooperation. He has plans and will accomplish them—and God always keeps his promises.

Respond Thank God for his love and guidance and ask him for faith to trust him more and for strength to do his will.

John 12:32-50

John 12

32 And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself."33 He said this to indicate how he was going to die.
  34 The crowd responded, "We understood from Scripture* that the Messiah would live forever. How can you say the Son of Man will die? Just who is this Son of Man, anyway?"
  35 Jesus replied, "My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going.36 Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light."
  After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.

The Unbelief of the People
37 But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him.38 This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted:

"LORD, who has believed our message?
  To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm?"*

39 But the people couldn't believe, for as Isaiah also said,

40 "The Lord has blinded their eyes
  and hardened their hearts—
so that their eyes cannot see,
  and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
  and have me heal them."*

41 Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah's glory.42 Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn't admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue.43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.
  44 Jesus shouted to the crowds, "If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me.45 For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me.46 I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.47 I will not judge those who hear me but don't obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it.48 But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken.49 I don't speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.50 And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say."

Our Daily Bread For 03-29-13

READ: John 19:28-37

It is finished! —John 19:30

Recently I read about Aron Ralston, a hiker who was trapped alone at the bottom of a remote canyon. With scant hope of being found and his strength ebbing away, he had to take drastic measures to save his life. During a moment of excruciating pain, he shouted in agony and in victory, because he had freed himself and now had a chance to escape and live.

Those who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus saw His hours of agony and heard Him cry out in a loud voice, “It is finished!” as He gave up His spirit (John 19:30). His final words from the cross were not a cry of painful defeat but a shout of triumph, because He had accomplished all that the Father sent Him to do.

When Jesus died, He shared in what all of us must experience. But far beyond that, He did what none of us can do. He paid the price for our sins that we might be forgiven and have eternal life through faith in Him.

“It is finished!” was the Lord’s shout of victory because now, through Him, we can escape the power of sin; we can live and be free.

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, we call the day of His death Good Friday. —David McCasland

I have been to the cross where my Savior died,
And all of my life is made new—
In the person of Him I am crucified.
I have been to the cross. Have you?
—Helen Frazee-Bower © 1956 Helen Frazee-Bower

Jesus died that we might live.

The Rolling Stone

Mar 29, 2013

Mark 15:42-47

Jesus was dead—witnessed by His executioners (Mark 15:37-39), confirmed by Pilate (Mark 15:44-45), and attested by two high-court judges who prepared His lifeless body for burial (Mark 15:43; John 3:1,19:38-39). Jesus was laid in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock. The entrance was sealed by an extremely large, round stone (Mark 15:46). It would take many strong men to move the 1- to 2-ton door. This troubled the women who had gone to anoint Jesus’ body: “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” (Mark 16:3). They had worried unnecessarily, however. For the large stone “had already been rolled aside” (Mark 16:4), the work of an angel (Matthew 28:2).

The Jewish authorities had established additional security measures to ensure that the body remained in the tomb (Matthew 27:62-66). The massive door was sealed with the Roman seal. Anyone breaking the Roman seal faced severe punishment, imprisonment, even death. A guard of well-trained Roman soldiers was deployed to guarantee maximum security. It was very dangerous and practically impossible for anyone to go in or out of the tomb.

But the impossible happened.

There was no need, of course, to remove the stone door to let Jesus out. He could have easily walked through the tomb’s walls or through the stone door (John 20:19,26). The stone was rolled away for our benefit. It was done to reveal that something spectacular had taken place inside the tomb. It was done to allow the women, Jesus’ disciples, His enemies, and everyone else to go into the tomb to ascertain for themselves that His body was no longer there (Mark 16:5-6).

The stone door was opened, not to let Jesus out, but to let people in—to let them see for themselves that the tomb was indeed empty! Jesus had risen from the dead! (Mark 16:6).

— K.T. Sim

When they entered the tomb, what did Peter and John see that told them Jesus had risen from the dead? (John 20:3-8).

If you were one of the women who saw that the stone had already been rolled aside, what might your reaction have been? How would you have explained what had happened to Jesus’ body?

Positive Thought For 03-28-13

Here Is Today's Positive Thought:

See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown? —Watts

Calvary reveals the vileness of our sin and the vastness of God’s love.

Isn’t There Some Misunderstanding?

’Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to Him, ’. . . are You going there again?’ —John 11:7-8

Just because I don’t understand what Jesus Christ says, I have no right to determine that He must be mistaken in what He says. That is a dangerous view, and it is never right to think that my obedience to God’s directive will bring dishonor to Jesus. The only thing that will bring dishonor is not obeying Him. To put my view of His honor ahead of what He is plainly guiding me to do is never right, even though it may come from a real desire to prevent Him from being put to an open shame. I know when the instructions have come from God because of their quiet persistence. But when I begin to weigh the pros and cons, and doubt and debate enter into my mind, I am bringing in an element that is not of God. This will only result in my concluding that His instructions to me were not right. Many of us are faithful to our ideas about Jesus Christ, but how many of us are faithful to Jesus Himself? Faithfulness to Jesus means that I must step out even when and where I can’t see anything (see Matthew 14:29). But faithfulness to my own ideas means that I first clear the way mentally. Faith, however, is not intellectual understanding; faith is a deliberate commitment to the Person of Jesus Christ, even when I can’t see the way ahead.
Are you debating whether you should take a step of faith in Jesus, or whether you should wait until you can clearly see how to do what He has asked? Simply obey Him with unrestrained joy. When He tells you something and you begin to debate, it is because you have a misunderstanding of what honors Him and what doesn’t. Are you faithful to Jesus, or faithful to your ideas about Him? Are you faithful to what He says, or are you trying to compromise His words with thoughts that never came from Him? “Whatever He says to you, do it ” (John 2:5).

Devotional For Leaders

Thursday March 28, 2013

Don't love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you."

Hebrews 13:5, NLT

Contentment lies not in what is mine but in whose I am. When I come into a relationship with God through his Son, Jesus Christ, I understand whose I am and what I have. Envy causes one to look horizontally--at what others have--so we are never satisfied. We pursue the god of money, thinking of what it can buy us. Contentment invites us to look vertically--at God. When we look in his direction, we know that he is enough. Contentment is the secret of inward peace. It recalls the bare truth that we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it, including our money. Life, in fact, is a journey from one moment of vulnerability to another. So we should travel light and live simply. The reality for most people is that we have enough--whatever enough is. We would be well advised to be content with what we have. Being content with less stuff and not envying those with a lot is a process that will take more than a quick prayer or reading a book or hearing a sermon. It will require a dependence and satisfaction in God. He knows what is best and what is needed in our lives. We must trust him and not money. Too often we take our eyes off God and put them on earthly pursuits, with money most often at the top of our lists. Money has an incredible power, much like a magnet and more like a god than most of us are willing to admit, to draw us away from those things that are eternal and life-filling. Always be on your guard with money. As the writer of Hebrews stated, "Don't love money." The heart can only love one thing at a time. When we choose to love God, we will discover the marvelous benefit of contentment. And, more importantly, we will learn that money can never satisfy the heart. Keep your focus, therefore, on God. He is enough.

Just Judah

March 28, 2013

Just Judah

Genesis 44:18-34

Read "My lord, I guaranteed to my father that I would take care of the boy. I told him, 'If I don't bring him back to you, I will bear the blame forever.' "So please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. For how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn't bear to see the anguish this would cause my father!" (Genesis 44:32-34)

Reflect When Judah was younger, he had shown no regard for his brother Joseph or his father, Jacob. First he had convinced his brothers to sell Joseph as a slave (Genesis 37:27); then he had joined his brothers in lying to their father about Joseph's fate (Genesis 37:32). But what a change had taken place in Judah! The man who had sold one favored little brother into slavery now offered himself as a slave to save another favored little brother. Judah was so concerned for his father and younger brother that he was willing to die for them. When you are ready to give up hope on yourself or someone else, Judah serves as a powerful reminder that God can work a complete change in even the most selfish personality. Judah had promised Jacob that he would protect young Benjamin (Genesis 43:9). Now Judah had a chance to keep that promise. Becoming a slave was a terrible fate, but Judah was determined to keep his word. He showed great courage in carrying out his promise. Accepting a responsibility means carrying it out with determination and courage, even in the face of personal sacrifice. Joseph wanted to see if his brothers' attitudes had changed for the better, so he tested the way they treated each other. Judah, the brother who had come up with the plan to sell Joseph, now stepped in to take Benjamin's punishment. This courageous act convinced Joseph.

Respond Judah put his life on the line, defending himself and his brothers and pleading for mercy. And he offered to put himself in Benjamin's place. At times we should be silent, but at times we should speak up, even if we could suffer for it. When you face a situation that needs a strong voice and courageous action, remember Judah, ask God for help, and speak up.

John 10:11-42

John 10

  11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don't belong to him and he isn't their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock.13 The hired hand runs away because he's working only for the money and doesn't really care about the sheep.
  14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
  17 "The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again.18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded."
  19 When he said these things, the people* were again divided in their opinions about him.20 Some said, "He's demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?"21 Others said, "This doesn't sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

Jesus Claims to Be the Son of God
22 It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication.23 He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon's Colonnade.24 The people surrounded him and asked, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."
  25 Jesus replied, "I have already told you, and you don't believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father's name.26 But you don't believe me because you are not my sheep.27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else.* No one can snatch them from the Father's hand.30 The Father and I are one."
  31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him.32 Jesus said, "At my Father's direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?"
  33 They replied, "We're stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God."
  34 Jesus replied, "It is written in your own Scriptures* that God said to certain leaders of the people, 'I say, you are gods!'*35 And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God's message were called 'gods,'36 why do you call it blasphemy when I say, 'I am the Son of God'? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world.37 Don't believe me unless I carry out my Father's work.38 But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don't believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father."
  39 Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them.40 He went beyond the Jordan River near the place where John was first baptizing and stayed there awhile.41 And many followed him. "John didn't perform miraculous signs," they remarked to one another, "but everything he said about this man has come true."42 And many who were there believed in Jesus.

Our Daily Bread for 03-28-13

READ: John 13:21-30

Having received the piece of bread, [Judas] then went out immediately. And it was night. —John 13:30

During a business trip to Philadelphia, I attended an evening service on the Thursday before Easter—a service of Communion and Tenebrae (darkness) held in a small chapel lit by candles. Following the bread and the cup, a passage was read aloud from the gospel of John, one candle was extinguished, and we sang a verse from a hymn about Jesus’ journey to the cross. This was repeated 14 times until the chapel was completely dark. In silence we knelt in prayer and then left one by one without speaking.

The darkness of this type of service can remind us of the dark elements surrounding Jesus’ death. Think of His last meal with the disciples (John 13:21-30) as He explained that one of them would betray Him. Only Jesus knew it was Judas. “Having received the piece of bread, [Judas] then went out immediately. And it was night” (v.30).

On the darkest evening of Jesus’ life, He agonized in prayer in the Garden, faced a wrongful arrest, endured humiliation at the hands of religious leaders, and winced at Peter’s denials. Yet He moved faithfully toward the cross where He would die for our sins.

Jesus endured darkness and death to give us light and life. Praise Him for what He went through for us! —David McCasland

See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown? —Watts

Calvary reveals the vileness of our sin and the vastness of God’s love.

Exercised

Romans 7:14-25

On all fours with the grass pressing into my hands and knees, I was already backing out of my goal. I had recently enlisted the help of a friend to improve my muscle strength and endurance. On this particular night, we were at a local park doing conditioning exercises and cardio. While my legs were completing the lifting exercises to strengthen my muscles, my mind desperately looked for a way out of having to run the last lap of our workout. I was convinced I had nothing left.

John 14:27 reminds us that when it comes to the battleground of the mind, Christ promises us a peace that doesn’t come from this world’s arena. In the midst of temptation, though, we may find ourselves in heated negotiations with thoughts that threaten to derail our spiritual perspective. Paul highlighted this very tension in Romans 8:6, which says, “Letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.” While the Christian walk is one founded in faith, God engages our minds as well as our hearts (Hebrews 10:16).

In the battle between flesh and spirit (Romans 7:22-25), self-help strategies and logical arguments fail to move spiritual strongholds. Likewise, an attempt to avoid a confrontation with the enemy through compromise will only bring us into further bondage.

Miraculous to be sure, victory arrives when we follow God’s process. Our desperate call to God in our struggles and our choice to obey (Psalm 119:169-170,173), one decision at a time, bring us to the place of authority where we can then take down the “rebellious thoughts” (2 Corinthians 10:5) that stand contrary to the work Christ accomplished on the cross. Like physical exercise, it’s not a one-time process but rather a practice for life.

— Regina Franklin

Read Colossians 4:2 and 2 Timothy 4:5-8 to see the importance of training our minds based on the truth of the Word, not only in thought but in action as well.

Why is the mind such a powerful tool in the fight for righteousness? How can you gain victory in your mind?

Weekly Sermon: 7 Wonders of the Spiritual World

Here is this weeks sermon don, by my local pastor:

Weekly Sermon: 7 Wonders of the Spiritual World

In Christ,
Tyler

New Music Releases For The Week Of 03-26-13

here are some awesome Albums hitting stores this week. Click on the album title to hear song samples provided by Amazon.com!

- JJ Weeks Band - All Over the World - InPop Recordings - Alan Jackson - Precious Memories V2 - CTG - Shawn McDonald - The Analog Sessions - Sparrow Records - Michael English - Some People Change - Curb Records - The Advice - The Advice - InPop Recording - Larnelle Harris - Live In Nashville CD/DVD - InPop - Various - Music From the ThunderGround - Word Records - The Ambassador - TBD - XIST Music - I Am Empire - Anchors - Tooth & Nail Records - Phil King - Phil King - SOR - Fred Hammond - United Tenors - RCA Inspiration - Stryper - Second Coming - Frontiers Records - - Jason Gray - Nothing Is Wasted EP - Centricity (Digital Release)

Spiritual Vision Through Personal Purity (2)

Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place . . . —Revelation 4:1

A higher state of mind and spiritual vision can only be achieved through the higher practice of personal character. If you live up to the highest and best that you know in the outer level of your life, God will continually say to you, “Friend, come up even higher.” There is also a continuing rule in temptation which calls you to go higher; but when you do, you only encounter other temptations and character traits. Both God and Satan use the strategy of elevation, but Satan uses it in temptation, and the effect is quite different. When the devil elevates you to a certain place, he causes you to fasten your idea of what holiness is far beyond what flesh and blood could ever bear or achieve. Your life becomes a spiritual acrobatic performance high atop a steeple. You cling to it, trying to maintain your balance and daring not to move. But when God elevates you by His grace into heavenly places, you find a vast plateau where you can move about with ease.
Compare this week in your spiritual life with the same week last year to see how God has called you to a higher level. We have all been brought to see from a higher viewpoint. Never allow God to show you a truth which you do not instantly begin to live up to, applying it to your life. Always work through it, staying in its light.
Your growth in grace is not measured by the fact that you haven’t turned back, but that you have an insight and understanding into where you are spiritually. Have you heard God say, “Come up higher,” not audibly on the outer level, but to the innermost part of your character?
“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing . . . ?” (Genesis 18:17). God has to hide from us what He does, until, due to the growth of our personal character, we get to the level where He is then able to reveal it.

Positive Thought For 03-27-13

Here is Today's Positive Thought:

Your words of pure, eternal truth
Shall yet unshaken stay,
When all that man has thought or planned
Like chaff shall pass away. —Anon.

If we hold on to God’s truth, we won’t be trapped by Satan’s lies.

Prayer: Three Loaves at Midnight by Scott Lyons

Prayer: Three Loaves at Midnight
Scott Lyons
3/27/2013
In the eleventh chapter of Luke’s Gospel, one of Jesus’ disciples asks him to teach them to pray. Jesus then teaches them the Lord’s Prayer. He then follows this teaching with the parable of the importunate friend, as it is sometimes known. A man who has been surprised by a friend’s visit goes to another friend’s house at midnight and asks for three loaves of bread, for he has nothing to feed his unexpected guest. He keeps asking, so the man gets up to get the bread for his friend—not because of friendship, but because of his friend’s persistence. It is easier to get the bread than to be bothered by the friend. This persistence is something we are born with. My children are masters of it. It is needing something so urgently that you keep asking, keep knocking, and keep seeking. And Jesus says that those who do so will be given whatever they need (Luke 11:8). Fathers do not give evil gifts to their children when they ask for food. When their children ask for food, fathers (who are sinful) give their children food. How much more, says Jesus, will our heavenly Father (who is good) give us the Holy Spirit?

Honestly, I have often felt as if Jesus were playing a trick on me here, seemingly promising one thing and then giving another. I wanted the gifts more than I wanted the Giver. This is understandable in children. But children must become men and women, and we often do not. I never understood what Jesus offered when he seemed to switch out “good gifts” for “the Holy Spirit.” I am not entirely sure I completely understand it now, other than this one thing: There is no switching out. The Holy Spirit is the one who encompasses every gift I need and desire, every joy. As C.S. Lewis writes in his essay “The Weight of Glory,” “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” Joy is what we are ultimately after. What we can’t imagine is that it has already been given. We only need eyes to see and open hands to receive it. The Holy Spirit is not some simpering wind that scatters when we turn against him. The Holy Spirit is fire, willing to make us all flame—but only if we are willing. Seraphim of Sarov, a nineteenth-century Orthodox monk, writes in On Acquisition of the Holy Spirit, “When the Spirit of God comes down to man and overshadows him with the fullness of his inspiration, then the human soul overflows with unspeakable joy, for the Spirit of God fills with joy whatever he touches.”

So it is not that Jesus responds to our persistence with tricks. He gives and he gives, but we do not understand what it is we long for. We don’t even know what it is that we truly desire. It is not the latest technology. It is not wealth or fame. It is not a spouse, not a child. It is Jesus. It is communion with and participation in his very life. How many times in Scripture does Paul say that we have been baptized into Christ or that we are in Christ? God desires to make the steel of our humanity incandescent with the fire of his divinity. This is the gift he offers: the Holy Spirit, who contains all gifts.

This brings us back to the parable of the importunate friend. “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?” (Psalm 42:1-2, NLT). Thirst for the Holy Spirit. Ask and keep asking, seek and keep seeking, knock and keep knocking; and God will give you the Holy Spirit. He is your three loaves of bread at midnight. He is more than anything you could ever ask or hope for. He is all you need.

Surviving The Famine

March 27, 2013

Surviving the Famine

Genesis 43:1-18

Read But the famine continued to ravage the land of Canaan. (Genesis 43:1)

Reflect Jacob and his sons had no relief from the famine. God's overall plan included sending them to Egypt, reuniting them with Joseph, and feeding them from Egypt's storehouses. But this bigger picture wasn't apparent to them. Suffering and hardship never end quickly enough. Waiting for God to intervene can test us to the breaking point. But remaining faithful to God is an opportunity to learn greater trust and dependence. In other words, we build a deeper, closer relationship with God. Suffering may cause us to question God's goodness; faithfulness is the path we must travel to uncover that goodness. This was what Jacob and his sons discovered. God had been working for good throughout the famine.

Respond If you are facing suffering or hardship and God is not bringing relief as quickly as you would like, remember that he is working for good in the meantime. Echo the words of Psalm 119:81, and ask God for the strength to remain faithful.

Ephesians 5:2-33

Ephesians 5

2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us* and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
  3 Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God's people.4 Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.5 You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
  6 Don't be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him.7 Don't participate in the things these people do.8 For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!9 For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.
  10 Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.12 It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.13 But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them,14 for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said,

"Awake, O sleeper,
  rise up from the dead,
  and Christ will give you light."

Living by the Spirit's Power
15 So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise.16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.17 Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.18 Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Spirit-Guided Relationships: Wives and Husbands
21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
  22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.24 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.
  25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God's word.*27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself.29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.30 And we are members of his body.
  31 As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one."*32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.33 So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Our Daily Bread For 03-27-13

READ: Luke 4:1-13

Your Word is truth. —John 17:17

When a friend started making random despairing statements, people were concerned for him and started giving advice and offering encouragement. As it turned out, he was simply having fun by quoting song lyrics out of context to start a conversation. Friends who tried to help wasted their time by offering help he didn’t need and advice he didn’t want. The consequences of my friend’s misleading statements were not serious, but they could have been. In taking time to respond to his false need, someone could have neglected someone else’s truly serious need.

Some people who take words out of context just want to gain attention or win an argument. But others are more sinister. They twist truth to gain power over others. They endanger not only lives but also souls.

When people use words to manipulate others to behave in certain ways—or worse, when they quote the Bible out of context to convince others to do wrong—there’s only one defense: We need to know what God truly says in His Word. Jesus was able to resist temptation with the truth (Luke 4). We have the same resource. God has given us His Word and Spirit to guide us and keep us from being deceived or misled. —Julie Ackerman Link

Your words of pure, eternal truth
Shall yet unshaken stay,
When all that man has thought or planned
Like chaff shall pass away. —Anon.

If we hold on to God’s truth, we won’t be trapped by Satan’s lies.

Why The Bible Matters

1 Thessalonians 2:1-13

In his article Does the Bible Matter in the 21st Century? author Vishal Mangalwadi lifts up the inestimable worth of God’s Word. He also notes that bad things happen when a country chooses to ignore the Bible’s wisdom. He writes, “[The US] was built by an ethic—a spirituality that taught citizens to work, earn, save, invest, and use their wealth to serve their neighbors. This biblical ethic has been replaced by secularism’s entitlement culture that teaches people that they have a right to this, that, and the other without corresponding obligations to work, save, and serve.”

That statement reflects the culture in many countries around the world. The apostle Paul, however, saw the church at Thessalonica embrace a very high view of Scripture and the biblical ethic. The people “received [God’s] message” and “accepted what we said as the very Word of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). By doing so, they were choosing “to please God, not people” (1 Thessalonians 2:4).

To embrace a high view of Scripture today means that you’ll be swimming upstream in a culture that doesn’t believe in it. You’ll have to accept that human praise will not be coming your way (1 Thessalonians 2:6). But as you live out what God’s Word teaches and commands, you’ll be leading a life “that God would consider worthy” (1 Thessalonians 2:12).

The Bible matters, for it’s the foundation of a life that glorifies God and possesses the life-changing wisdom we need. Paul writes, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

That’s why the Bible matters.

— Tom Felten

Read Revelation 3:8 and see what Jesus lifts up as the good things the church in Philadelphia had been doing.

What would your friends and family say about how much the Bible matters to you? In what ways can you use God’s Word to positively impact your culture?