Get ready to start a journey…a journey through the pages of the Bible and the pages of your life.
The spiritual life is superhuman. The things God calls me to are beyond my capabilities. The tasks before me are outside my skill set. The spiritual journey outpaces my strength. Check out Paul’s dose of reality in today’s passage. We are not “qualified to do anything on our own.” Say it with me, “I am unqualified.” When you admit that, things start getting good!
I watched my dad die. Cancer robbed him of energy and vigor, and left him lying in a bed, surrounded by his family watching him take his last breath. Death is not glorious. Paul describes it as the last enemy. However, it is a holy moment. I watched my dad pass from death to life.
In the Old Testament, the temple was the house of God. Believers went to the temple to meet with God and seek his favor and forgiveness through their sacrifices. Many journeyed for several days over rough terrain to arrive at the place where God lived. Now, all of that has changed!
Freedom from fear is not found in a person, place, or possessions. It is found in God alone. Fear is driven away when we understand the magnitude of God. Included in this passage are seven truths about God’s greatness.
I grew up believing that I could lose my relationship with God. I thought that I could be a Christian in the morning, sin by lunch, and therefore be headed for hell in the afternoon. I thought that my relationship with Jesus depended on me. How about you? What does your relationship with God depend on?
There are times when words won’t come. We have said all we know to say every way we know to say it. We are not giving up or giving up on God. We are desperate for his help and strength. We are simply exhausted from wrestling in prayer. Can you relate?
The fear of insignificance arises when we compare ourselves to the standard of the world. However, when we realize that we have “peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us,” everything changes!
Stephen was a man “full of God’s grace and power” who “performed amazing miracles and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). When opposition came against the early Christians, he was one of the first to be arrested. As he faced the accusers during his trial, all who saw him said “his face became as bright as an angel’s” (Acts 6:15).
After a windy day, dead branches lay all over our yard. Dead branches are, well, dead. No leaves; no life. We either throw them away or put them on top of our firewood to be used for kindling. Okay, my wife, Lori, either throws them away or puts them on top of the firewood.
Heaven is actual existence. Heaven is not a state of mind. Jesus told his disciples that he was going to get it ready. He promised he would come and take his followers to be with him. We will not float forever in a mental neverland. Heaven is real.
Jesus’ words in today’s passage were spoken to a woman in despair. Her brother, Lazarus, had died, and she felt the sharp pains of grief; but Jesus reminded her that while physical death was inevitable, spiritual death was not. Those who believe in Jesus “will never ever die.”
There are many reasons you may have for not being a Christian. You may not feel like you need Jesus. You may not believe the Bible to be true. You may have had a bad experience with a church or with Christians. However, there is one thing that we can all agree on—we are all going to die.