Faith

God’s not Dead

John 20:1-18  (NKJV)

The Empty Tomb

Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early. It was still dark. But she noticed that the stone the soldiers used to seal the tomb was off to the side. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

So Peter and the other disciple left for the grave. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, which He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their homes.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene.

But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”

She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

She turned and said to Him,[a] “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father, but go to My brethren and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that He had spoken these things to her.

Lord I need you–Chris Tomlin

Worship Wednesday

1 Chronicles 16:23-31New King James Version (NKJV)

23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
24 Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all people.

25 For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;
He is also to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the people are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.
27 Honor and majesty are before Him;
Strength and gladness are in His place.

28 Give to the Lord, O families of the people,
Give to the Lord glory and strength.
29 Give to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come before Him.
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
30 Tremble before Him, all the earth.
The world also is firmly established,
It shall not be moved.

31 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”

I surrender–Hillsong

Worship Wednesday

2 Chronicles 7:14New King James Version (NKJV)

14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Why? Why me, Lord?

Every time something bad happened to us our knee jerk reaction is always the question ‘Why me Lord?’ Nobody ever asked; ‘Why not me, Lord?’ We have trained ourselves to believe the fallacy that life must be good all the time. And if you are a Christian you expect God to shield you from every hardship, big and small. But life does not work like that.

Sometimes the hardship is a result of our poor judgment. We took the wide road instead of the narrow one. Other times, it’s negligence or blatant refusal to follow God’s instructions. (We read what happened to the prophet, Jonah when he ignored God’s instruction to go to Nineveh).

So friends, wherever you are today. Whatever your hardship, before you start dumping blame on God, look at yourself in the mirror first. You will find that 99% of your problems are self-induced. Do not question God. And most of all, do not doubt Him. He had and still have a great plan for you.  Jeremiah 29:11 says it best; “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and hope.” (NLT) Use your trials as catalysts to strengthen your resolve in Christ Jesus. Do not be bitter. Instead, of asking, ‘Why me, Lord?’ Ask, Why not me, Lord?’ Be like Apostle Paul when he said; 

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate me from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (“Romans 8:31-39

What does your defeatist attitude say about your Christianity?

What does your defeatist attitude say about your Christianity?
Jesus advised us against worrying. He promised He would never leave us or forsake us. And, Apostle Paul assured us that despite our trials, we are more than conquerors. Still many of us take a defeatist approach when we get caught in a stressful situation. Instead of unlocking our faith and give the problem to Jesus. We wave the white flag and surrender.

Folks, the world, is our watchdog on earth. It notices everything we do. And when we allow our circumstances to get the better of us it gives the world ammunition to label us as frauds. Hence, we become laughing stocks and not the light that Jesus wants us to become.

Do you not know you are sons and daughters of God? And, even though we will never be like Jesus, we are His equal in the kingdom of God. Ephesians 1: verse 5 gives us that authority. Further, Jesus tells us that whatever we ask the Father in His name He will grant. Use what you have, prayer and faith and pull yourself up.

Even if you do not think, you are a conqueror. The Bible says you are. So, you do not have any business walking around looking beaten up and defeated. Jesus is our example; He gave us all the tools we need to overcome and conquer our difficulties.