Monthly Archives: April 2014

Does God Have Your Attention?

Matthew 27:53 NKJV and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

Amazing doesn’t even begin to describe it. I was up front after the first of two Easter services last week when God got my attention. It was one of those moments; one of those times when the presence of God is so thick, so palatable that were it not for the fact He was working something out and using me as an instrument, I wouldn’t have wanted to move at all much less speak for fear of messing it up. A 14 year old boy along with his brother and mother came to me after service with the following question: ” was heaven created after Jesus died?” The boy pointed to Matthew 27:52-53 NKJV and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

The simple answer to the question is found in Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. I pointed the young man to the first verse in the bible and he smiled. Just as I was beginning to feel please with myself God moved. The boys older brother piped up and said, “So were the dead people like zombies?” As I flipped back to the 27th chapter of Mathew, I smiled and said, “no not like zombies.” Inside my mind was reeling. ” oh no!” I thought, panic stricken. “I never really understood this section either. Why is God raising others from the dead? Isn’t this supposed to be all about Jesus?”

Then there was a quiet peace and in that moment was Jesus and He said, “Why indeed?” And then the next question,

“Why did I come?”

“To set the captive free,” I said

“Right. Now start from the beginning.”

At that point I herd myself say, “God does things in such a way that, when its over, there is no question that He did it. For example; Joshua and the walls of Jericho. God had is people marching around the city and blowing trumpets. And the walls came down. There was no question in anyones mind, whether they were a believer or not, by the time that was over that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was the orchestrator.” From that point on it was like I had stepped outside of myself and was watching a trip through the scriptures.

It is important not to take scripture out of context. It is an easy thing to do but when we do, we run the risk of short changing ourselves of the full message of the gospel. In this case, the Lord took me back to Mathew 27:50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. At this moment Jesus has died. From here, things begin to happen fast and everything that occurs has meaning as well as purpose.

Matthew 27:51 NKJV Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, The God of the universe has just sacrificed His only son for the salvation of the human race. We know from scripture that it is not God’s heart that anyone should suffer. It is safe to say that God’s heart was broken. The earthquake was a manifestation of that heart break. As the Jerusalem is shaking, the temple veil separating the holy place from the most holy place is torn. Lest we miss this, this is no small thing. Based on the research I have done, this veil was 4 inches thick, 66 feet tall, and 33 feet wide. God ripped it in two! This is significant as a symbol of the new covenant in Jesus. No more are only the high priests and those schooled in the law the only ones with access to the scriptures and thus to God. Jesus death now serves as a bridge between God and man. One sacrifice for all time; ending death. The people of the time would have seen this as an answer to prophecy. They would have reached back to Isaiah: isaiah 25:7-8 NKJV And He will destroy on this mountain The surface of the covering cast over all people, And the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken.

Then, God drives the point home. After the resurrection of Jesus, God performs mass resurrections (Matthew 27:53). God orchestrated the entire event to show His people what He had done that He would be glorified and so they would know without a doubt that Jesus was their Messiah. God’s grace is boundless and endless! The very people that had slaughtered His Son were being given proof of the love of God and a chance to repent yet again.

Where does this message find you today? Has the Lord been showing you manifestations of His love? Has Jesus been trying to get your attention? If you are feeling that little push-respond. You know that you can do it alone. You can’t beat that addiction, fix that relationship, or carry the weight of life by the rules of this world anymore so, lay it all at the foot of the cross; crucify it with Jesus and be born again. Galatians 2:20 NKJV I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Grace and Peace,

LD

*If you would like to know more about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, email me at savedIIserve@gmail.com and let me know! I will be happy to lead you through what the bible says about salvation and accepting Jesus Christ as your savior.*

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Spiritual Courage

 Psalms 119:105 NKJV

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

As I was driving into work this morning I was deep in thought. My mind was occupied with all of the important things in front of me, those things that were immediate: the bills that were coming due, how to resolve a disagreement between my wife and me, how best to impact my teenage daughter, and, oh yes, how to keep an open mind so I could process the new things I was learning at work. In short, My mind was awash with the clutter and fog of distraction. If I were to post a poll on the site and ask what percentage of time you spend overwhelmed and distracted by your daily life; the percentages would be high. According to Gallup Politics, the number one worry in America today is the state of the economy. Here is the complete poll:
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Looking at the poll results, I’m sure you can find a few, if not many of these categories to relate to. I have spent time worried about all of these things at one time or another. The worries depicted above are worries of the world and they certainly can and do cause us distress. We can liken worldly worries to the distress felt by the disciples in Matthew 14 starting in verse 24, ” But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, distressed by the waves for the wind was contrary.” That is a wonderful picture of the world in which we live; unpredictable, rough, and dangerous.

Worldly worries come at us from every direction but that is not all we must contend with. Believers in Jesus and those moved by the Spirit to commit their lives to Him often face another worry. Simply put, they believe they have too much baggage in their past to bother with Jesus. Or, more correctly stated, They believe they have sinned too much for Him to bother with them. May people condemn themselves to a life without God simply because they feel they have done too much wrong, they believe that their lives represent too much darkness, are two damaged to be worthy of the salvation of Jesus Christ. If that is you today. Let me encourage you. Salvation is a gift and like all gifts, salvation is accepted not earned. Jesus tells us in John 3:16-17 NKJV“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” Jesus came to save the whole world; not just you, not just me but all that would believe.

The question is, how do we stay focused on what is important a midst all of the distractions, the noise that this world bombards us with? The answer is simple but not easy. The answer is keep your eyes on Jesus. After all, He is what is important. The familiar account in Matthew shows us three distinct pictures they are: Jesus desire for us, the power of walking in the spirit, and effect of doing things in our own strength. Matthew 14:28-29 NKJV: And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. Jesus wants us out of our comfort zone. Have you ever noticed that He always seems to be out on the periphery, just on the edge of our comfort zone? Because He loves us, He wants us to grow, to learn and have success. The success we have in Christ brings Him glory.

Success in Christ is the key. God is in control not man. No matter the task or challenge that placed before us, God has promised to bring us through it. All we have to do is keep our eyes on Jesus. When we have the spiritual courage and faith the make the Lord a “lamp” unto our feet. We realize the only way to go is forward; forward with our eyes on Him.

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