Just sharing.

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The Most Puzzling Question John the Baptist Ever Asked






If you are familiar with the life of John the Baptist, he came to prepare the way for Jesus. Right after John the Baptist baptized Jesus, marking the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, here’s what John declared to the world:

“I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.” John 1:34
After that moment, Jesus disappears into the wilderness for 40 days to be tested and tempted by the devil, and when Jesus shows back up he starts saying things and doing things that no one expected. He didn’t do what the chief priests in Jerusalem expected and they felt threatened by him. Jesus didn’t do what the Pharisees out in the villages expected and they decided Jesus had to go. But Jesus wasn’t just about upsetting the establishment. The common people, the crowds, in the end, had enough of Jesus as well.

Here’s a passage that always seems a bit confusing and shows just how unexpected and brand new Jesus’ movement was, even to John the Baptist:
When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Matthew 11:2-3

What in the world is going on here? This is John the Baptist, what’s he doing questioning whether Jesus is truly the Messiah, the promised Savior? John’s asking because of all the little boxes people had created for God, whether it was the chief priests or the Pharisees or even the crowds, Jesus didn’t fit into any of them. He really did come to establish something brand new.

I tried to think of an illustration that would give an idea of how brand new Jesus was compared to the expectations surrounding the Messiah. It would be like if America a decade from now elected a president. This president would have certain expectations of what a president should do, regardless of which political party the president is in. So, how shocked and dismayed and upset would Americans be if a decade from now we elect a president, and a month in the president decides that they need to spend most of their time personally fixing the plumbing in the White House, because it’s so out of date, and once that’s over they decide it’s going to be their mission to personally update all of the plumbing in all of the federal buildings in Washington DC.

If that’s what the president did 12 hours a day when they were supposed to govern the most powerful nation on the planet, how would we react? The shock we would experience is similar to what the people of Israel felt with Jesus. He didn’t fit anyone’s expectations, even the crowds.
When Jesus proclaimed himself to be the Messiah, there were massive expectations that came along with that. The Messiah was the Anointed One, the Savior or Liberator. People had historical archetypes of that: Joshua who conquered the Promised Land or David who established the might of the Israelite nation.

In the first century, the elephant in the room was Rome. The Israelites wanted one thing and one thing only: liberation from Rome. In their minds they didn’t need any type of spiritual salvation because they assumed that they had God locked into a covenant because they were born Jews. They thought they were good on all the spiritual stuff. They wanted a political and military ruler that would unite them and cast off the Roman oppression. But, instead of picking a fight with the Romans, Jesus picked a fight with the religious leaders of the day, most of whom were revered and highly respected.
Jesus came to establish something so brand new even John the Baptist was left scratching his head at one point.

 

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Give Him Glory! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11 NIV __________________ These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify Thee: As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. John 17:1-3 KJV __________________ All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O LORD, When they have heard the words of Your mouth. And they will sing of the ways of the LORD, For great is the glory of the LORD. For though the LORD is exalted, Yet He regards the lowly, But the haughty He knows from afar. Psalm 138:4-6 NASB __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.”

Isaiah 2:3

It is exceedingly beneficial to our souls to mount above this present evil world to something nobler and better. The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches are apt to choke everything good within us, and we grow fretful, desponding, perhaps proud and carnal. It is well for us to cut down these thorns and briers, for heavenly seed sown among them is not likely to yield a harvest; and where shall we find a better sickle with which to cut them down than communion with God and the things of the kingdom?

In the valleys of Switzerland many of the inhabitants are deformed, and all wear a sickly appearance, for the atmosphere is charged with miasma, and is close and stagnant; but up yonder, on the mountain, you find a hardy race, who breathe the clear fresh air as it blows from the virgin snows of the Alpine summits. It would be well if the dwellers in the valley could frequently leave their abodes among the marshes and the fever mists, and inhale the bracing element upon the hills. It is to such an exploit of climbing that I invite you this evening.

May the Spirit of God assist us to leave the mists of fear and the fevers of anxiety, and all the ills which gather in this valley of earth, and to ascend the mountains of anticipated joy and blessedness. May God the Holy Spirit cut the cords that keep us here below, and assist us to mount! We sit too often like chained eagles fastened to the rock, only that, unlike the eagle, we begin to love our chain, and would, perhaps, if it came really to the test, be loath to have it snapped. May God now grant us grace, if we cannot escape from the chain as to our flesh, yet to do so as to our spirits; and leaving the body, like a servant, at the foot of the hill, may our soul, like Abraham, attain the top of the mountain, there to indulge in communion with the Most High.

 

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How Do You Know When It’s God Speaking To You?



What do you say to someone that says, “God spoke to me,” or how do you know when it really is God speaking to you?

God Speaks
I cannot count the number of times when someone has told me, “God spoke to me and told me to do this,” or “Told me to tell you that you should do that,” but it has turned out to be wrong. One pastor became so sure that God spoke to him about using a white board in preaching that no one could tell him that they missed his old preaching style. When someone was finally willing to go the pastor on behalf of several other members of the congregation, the pastor was not happy. He was 100% certain that God spoke to him about using the white board, and until he heard from God again, he wasn’t going to change his mind, no matter what. If you bring it up again, he just gets angry. So did God really speak to this pastor and tell him to use a white board until further notice?

And if it was god, which god? We’re in an invisible battle, so we cannot always rely on what we think God told us to do. There’s a better way to hear God’s voice. He speaks to us most clearly in Scripture and by His Spirit, but what about an “audible voice” as some had said they heard? God is God. He can do as He pleases, but again, we must place this “voice of God” against conduct and Scripture. Whatever God told them to do must not be contrary to Scripture. If it doesn’t, then clearly, this is not the voice of God but the voice of a deceiver. God does not contradict what is written in Scripture. That will never happen, no matter what a person may hear!

The Spirit
The church I attend has a saying that I like. It talks about the Inner Word (the Holy Spirit), opening the Outer Word (the Bible), to reveal the Living Word (Jesus Christ). The Spirit is essential to our understanding of Scripture. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive the Spirit of a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7). With this mind of Christ (Phil 2:5-8), we can more clearly hear God speaking to us through His Word, and His Word shows us what Christ’s marching orders are for the church (e.g. Matt 25:35-36, 28:18-20; Acts 1:8, etc.). We have all we need in Scripture and all we need to understand Scripture (the Spirit), so it is not hard to stay within the parameters of Scriptural commands. When we start to put experience, or what we think God is telling us ahead of Scripture, we can get in trouble. Scripture is always the highest authority, and Scripture is where God speaks most plainly.

The Word
The Word reveals the will of God. Of course, it might not tell a pastor whether he should use a white board or not, but it should tell him that he is to esteem others better than himself (Phil 2:3), and respond with humility when someone has a concern about the church or his teaching (James 4:6). It is not the pastor, the church board, the congregation, or the denomination that determines what is true or what the will of God is. It is Scripture alone, and no man can cay “This is what God tells me,” but do things that are contrary to Scripture.

You don’t have to hear a voice from heaven to know that we are “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2). Scripture plainly tells us that “this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality” (1 Thess 4:3). Why would God speak to someone (as one man told me) that he was supposed to divorce his wife to become a missionary, when Scripture tells us that divorce is permissible only due to adultery? It’s easy to see how we can get blown off course by our own thoughts and imagination’s.

The Son
The Bible actually speaks to us through God’s Spirit, Who inspired the Holy Scriptures, but of the Prophets and of Jesus Himself, it says, “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Heb 1:3), and Jesus does speak to us…directly, in the Gospels and sometimes in the Book of Acts. You don’t have to fast and pray and meditate to hear God’s voice when you have Jesus’ Words of life recorded in the four gospels. There is no mystery to God’s will or God’s voice, because Jesus is God, but again, God speaks most clearly through Scripture, and abundantly so through Christ!

Conclusion
When God speaks to people, it is highly subjective. It is subject to the human will, emotions, feelings, fatigue, hunger, pain, suffering, grief, and any other number of factors, but God’s Word is objective truth. It is always true, even if you’ve got the flu. It does not depend on human feelings or hearing voices or perceived voices. Put 100% of your trust of God speaking to you, first in Scripture, but also by His Spirit. These two affirm one another and keep us out of the ditches of human or personal experience. When someone tells you God spoke to them, tell them He’s spoken to you too…and it starts in Genesis 1:1 and ends in Revelation 22:21. In between those pages, I am more than convinced that God speaks to me. Outsides of those pages, not so much.

 

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Telling the Truth "Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD." Leviticus 19:11,12 NIV __________________ But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Revelation 21:8 KJV __________________ In your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth. The wicked go astray from the womb, they err from their birth, speaking lies. Psalm 58:2,3 RSV __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“Before honour is humility.”

Proverbs 15:33

Humiliation of soul always brings a positive blessing with it. If we empty our hearts of self God will fill them with his love. He who desires close communion with Christ should remember the word of the Lord, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” Stoop if you would climb to heaven. Do we not say of Jesus, “He descended that he might ascend?” so must you. You must grow downwards, that you may grow upwards; for the sweetest fellowship with heaven is to be had by humble souls, and by them alone.

God will deny no blessing to a thoroughly humbled spirit. “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” with all its riches and treasures. The whole exchequer of God shall be made over by deed of gift to the soul which is humble enough to be able to receive it without growing proud because of it. God blesses us all up to the full measure and extremity of what it is safe for him to do. If you do not get a blessing, it is because it is not safe for you to have one. If our heavenly Father were to let your unhumbled spirit win a victory in his holy war, you would pilfer the crown for yourself, and meeting with a fresh enemy you would fall a victim; so that you are kept low for your own safety.

When a man is sincerely humble, and never ventures to touch so much as a grain of the praise, there is scarcely any limit to what God will do for him. Humility makes us ready to be blessed by the God of all grace, and fits us to deal efficiently with our fellow men. True humility is a flower which will adorn any garden. This is a sauce with which you may season every dish of life, and you will find an improvement in every case. Whether it be prayer or praise, whether it be work or suffering, the genuine salt of humility cannot be used in excess.

 

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Do your work heartily - serving Christ Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. Colossians 3:23-24 NASB __________________ Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. Ephesians 6:7,8 ESV __________________ "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." Acts 20:32 NIV __________________ To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:4,5 KJV __________________ For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18,24 KJV __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“Ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit.”

Romans 8:23

Present possession is declared. At this present moment we have the first fruits of the Spirit. We have repentance, that gem of the first water; faith, that priceless pearl; hope, the heavenly emerald; and love, the glorious ruby. We are already made “new creatures in Christ Jesus,” by the effectual working of God the Holy Ghost. This is called the first fruit because it comes first. As the wave-sheaf was the first of the harvest, so the spiritual life, and all the graces which adorn that life, are the first operations of the Spirit of God in our souls.

The first fruits were the pledge of the harvest. As soon as the Israelite had plucked the first handful of ripe ears, he looked forward with glad anticipation to the time when the wain should creak beneath the sheaves. So, brethren, when God gives us things which are pure, lovely, and of good report, as the work of the Holy Spirit, these are to us the prognostics of the coming glory. The first fruits were always holy to the Lord, and our new nature, with all its powers, is a consecrated thing. The new life is not ours that we should ascribe its excellence to our own merit; it is Christ's image and creation, and is ordained for his glory.

But the first fruits were not the harvest, and the works of the Spirit in us at this moment are not the consummation—the perfection is yet to come. We must not boast that we have attained, and so reckon the wave-sheaf to be all the produce of the year: we must hunger and thirst after righteousness, and pant for the day of full redemption. Dear reader, this evening open your mouth wide, and God will fill it. Let the boon in present possession excite in you a sacred avarice for more grace. Groan within yourself for higher degrees of consecration, and your Lord will grant them to you, for he is able to do exceeding abundantly above what we ask or even think.

 

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Do your work heartily - serving Christ Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. Colossians 3:23-24 NASB __________________ Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. Ephesians 6:7,8 ESV __________________ "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." Acts 20:32 NIV __________________ To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:4,5 KJV __________________ For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18,24 KJV __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“Ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit.”

Romans 8:23

Present possession is declared. At this present moment we have the first fruits of the Spirit. We have repentance, that gem of the first water; faith, that priceless pearl; hope, the heavenly emerald; and love, the glorious ruby. We are already made “new creatures in Christ Jesus,” by the effectual working of God the Holy Ghost. This is called the first fruit because it comes first. As the wave-sheaf was the first of the harvest, so the spiritual life, and all the graces which adorn that life, are the first operations of the Spirit of God in our souls.

The first fruits were the pledge of the harvest. As soon as the Israelite had plucked the first handful of ripe ears, he looked forward with glad anticipation to the time when the wain should creak beneath the sheaves. So, brethren, when God gives us things which are pure, lovely, and of good report, as the work of the Holy Spirit, these are to us the prognostics of the coming glory. The first fruits were always holy to the Lord, and our new nature, with all its powers, is a consecrated thing. The new life is not ours that we should ascribe its excellence to our own merit; it is Christ's image and creation, and is ordained for his glory.

But the first fruits were not the harvest, and the works of the Spirit in us at this moment are not the consummation—the perfection is yet to come. We must not boast that we have attained, and so reckon the wave-sheaf to be all the produce of the year: we must hunger and thirst after righteousness, and pant for the day of full redemption. Dear reader, this evening open your mouth wide, and God will fill it. Let the boon in present possession excite in you a sacred avarice for more grace. Groan within yourself for higher degrees of consecration, and your Lord will grant them to you, for he is able to do exceeding abundantly above what we ask or even think.

 

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Eternal Life! "Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night within his temple; and he who sits upon the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Revelation 7:15-17 RSV __________________ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 KJV __________________ And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:11-13 NASB __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“In the name of the Lord I will destroy them.”

Psalm 118:12

Our Lord Jesus, by his death, did not purchase a right to a part of us only, but to the entire man. He contemplated in his passion the sanctification of us wholly, spirit, soul, and body; that in this triple kingdom he himself might reign supreme without a rival. It is the business of the newborn nature which God has given to the regenerate to assert the rights of the Lord Jesus Christ. My soul, so far as thou art a child of God, thou must conquer all the rest of thyself which yet remains unblest; thou must subdue all thy powers and passions to the silver sceptre of Jesus’ gracious reign, and thou must never be satisfied till he who is King by purchase becomes also King by gracious coronation, and reigns in thee supreme.

Seeing, then, that sin has no right to any part of us, we go about a good and lawful warfare when we seek, in the name of God, to drive it out. O my body, thou art a member of Christ: shall I tolerate thy subjection to the prince of darkness? O my soul, Christ has suffered for thy sins, and redeemed thee with his most precious blood: shall I suffer thy memory to become a storehouse of evil, or thy passions to be firebrands of iniquity? Shall I surrender my judgment to be perverted by error, or my will to be led in fetters of iniquity? No, my soul, thou art Christ's, and sin hath no right to thee.

Be courageous concerning this, O Christian! be not dispirited, as though your spiritual enemies could never be destroyed. You are able to overcome them—not in your own strength—the weakest of them would be too much for you in that; but you can and shall overcome them through the blood of the Lamb. Do not ask, “How shall I dispossess them, for they are greater and mightier than I?” but go to the strong for strength, wait humbly upon God, and the mighty God of Jacob will surely come to the rescue, and you shall sing of victory through his grace.

 

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Joy - from the Lord! Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. Habakkuk 3:17-19 KJV __________________ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8,9 NIV __________________ So the ransomed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, And everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 51:11 NASB __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.”

Psalm 51:14

In this solemn confession, it is pleasing to observe that David plainly names his sin. He does not call it manslaughter, nor speak of it as an imprudence by which an unfortunate accident occurred to a worthy man, but he calls it by its true name, bloodguiltiness. He did not actually kill the husband of Bathsheba; but still it was planned in David's heart that Uriah should be slain, and he was before the Lord his murderer. Learn in confession to be honest with God. Do not give fair names to foul sins; call them what you will, they will smell no sweeter.

What God sees them to be, that do you labour to feel them to be; and with all openness of heart acknowledge their real character. Observe, that David was evidently oppressed with the heinousness of his sin. It is easy to use words, but it is difficult to feel their meaning. The fifty-first Psalm is the photograph of a contrite spirit. Let us seek after the like brokenness of heart; for however excellent our words may be, if our heart is not conscious of the hell-deservingness of sin, we cannot expect to find forgiveness.

Our text has in it an earnest prayer — it is addressed to the God of salvation. It is his prerogative to forgive; it is his very name and office to save those who seek his face. Better still, the text calls him the God of my salvation. Yes, blessed be his name, while I am yet going to him through Jesus’ blood, I can rejoice in the God of my salvation.

The psalmist ends with a commendable vow : if God will deliver him he willsing—nay, more, he will “sing aloud.” Who can sing in any other style of such a mercy as this! But note the subject of the song—“Thy righteousness .” We must sing of the finished work of a precious Saviour; and he who knows most of forgiving love will sing the loudest.

 

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Mark 16:1-11 – How to Seek God

Sometimes I have Sisyphean sissy fits.
“I want to see Jesus. I don’t see Jesus. Waaahhhhh!”
I sound like a child who was promised to see Santa but couldn’t.
Why Sisyphean? In English, the word “Sisyphean” has come to mean “”endless and unavailing, as labor or a task.” Or you might remember the myth of Sisyphus, in which king Sisyphus acts as if he’s equal to the gods and they punish him by condemning him to roll a huge rock up a steep hill. However, before he could ever get the rock to the top it always rolled back down, and the cycle would continue endlessly.

So why can’t I see Jesus in the midst of this life that seems so Sisyphean?
Here I am, reading and meditating on Mark 16 and the Resurrection of my Lord Jesus Christ. I know all the right theological things to think, I think. I could think about how strong God is to conquer death; I could remember to give thanks that He rose from the grave; I could even contemplate my own resurrection. All of these are wonderful things to think. And yet I still miss Jesus, and sometimes I can’t see Him or seem to experience His Resurrection.

I think it’s because I don’t have enough love or faith. At least I know I don’t have the love and faith of the women of the Gospels. Consider today the faith these women – Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome – manifested.
First, they offer Jesus the firstfruits of their lives, including their time. Notice when they go to find Jesus: “very early in the morning, on the first day of the week” (verse 2). They don’t wait until after they’ve slept in, and they don’t wait until someone else has first gone. They are like kids the night before Christmas who rise as early as is feasible to go and find their treasure.

Is this the way I seek Jesus?
Do I seek Him first thing in the morning, with great anticipation and desire? Is seeking Him an urgent business for me?
Second, they go to anoint His body. They fully expect to see only the dead body of Jesus, and yet they still go early to anoint it. Surely this could have waited. But not in the hearts and minds of these women.
Is this the way I seek Jesus?

Do I seek ways to anoint His body, to beautify and glorify Him? Do I desire His glory so much that even little ways I can give Him glory are important to me? There are times when He seems dead to me, or actually that I seem dead to Him. There are some days when I don’t seek Him first thing in the morning and expect to see Him alive in my life. Do I go anyway? Half of seeing Jesus, I’m convinced, is making the effort to see Him even when we’re not sure He’ll appear.
It’s like that in our life with Him, isn’t it. Even in that sacred time we each spend with Him in our private devotions or corporate worship, we don’t always feel or see Him, do we? Maybe we’ve prayed one day and felt the power of the Holy Spirit or the joy of His presence. And so we return the next day only to find that it feels like we’re just going through the motions. What happens on the third day, the day after we’ve been disappointed? Do we still get up with joyful anticipation and seek Him? Don’t be surprised when He doesn’t come one day the same way He came the day before: He wants you to seek Him – not an experience or feeling.

And maybe if we sought Him among the living, that is, is His Body, the Church, we’d find a body to anoint and beautify and take care of, no matter how decaying that Body may appear to be.
Third, they went not knowing how in the world they would roll the stone away. For all they knew, they would find a dead Jesus locked in a tomb they couldn’t access. But, out of faith and love and hope, they went anyway.
Is this the way I seek Jesus?

Do I have the faith that can remove stones from tombs, or am I so limited by my human sight that I don’t even dare to attempt to find Him? Have I been so disappointed by a Sisyphean life or so drugged by life into a catatonic state that I no longer make the effort I once made to see Him?
A miraculous thing happened when these faithful women went out in these ways to seek Jesus: they found Him! Initially, what they found was an empty tomb. Then, the angel appeared to them, and only then did Jesus appear to them.
Even after they had made the pilgrimage to see Him, they had to wait. They saw evidences of Him, signs and wonders that led them to Him. And so don’t be discouraged, my soul, if you do not see Him at first, but remain faithful.

Seek Him with the firstfruits of your life, with passion and persistence. Come looking for ways to glorify Him, and come even when it’s a gray day outside and you’re tired and don’t feel like it. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see Him the way you expect to see Him at first, but come with hope and love.
Every day for the Christian is a day of resurrection for every day is a day in which Jesus Christ has already been resurrected and is one day closer to our own day of resurrection.

Every day begins with Jesus dead in a sealed tomb, as far as we know. It’s only when we rise with hope, seek Him with love, and persevere with faith that we will see Him each and every day.
Seek Him in this way, and see if He doesn’t happen to miraculously show up in your life today!
Prayer: O God, whose blessed Son did manifest Himself to these holy women who sought Him first thing in the morning; Open, we pray thee, the eyes of our faith, that we, patiently and passionately seeking thee, may behold thee in all they works; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Points for Meditation:

1. 
   
2. What obstacles keep me from seeking Jesus with passion and patience?
3. Consider the ways that He has come to you over the years, so that you may be prepared to find Him when He appears.

Resolution: I resolve to find one way to more faithfully seek Jesus today that I might more perfectly see Him.

 

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His Holy Spirit... And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever -- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16,17 NIV __________________ I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Proverbs 1:23b KJV __________________ Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. Ezekiel 36:25-27 NASB __________________ We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 1 Corinthians 2:12 NIV __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.”

Psalm 23:4

Behold, how independent of outward circumstances the Holy Ghost can make the Christian! What a bright light may shine within us when it is all dark without! How firm, how happy, how calm, how peaceful we may be, when the world shakes to and fro, and the pillars of the earth are removed! Even death itself, with all its terrible influences, has no power to suspend the music of a Christian's heart, but rather makes that music become more sweet, more clear, more heavenly, till the last kind act which death can do is to let the earthly strain melt into the heavenly chorus, the temporal joy into the eternal bliss! Let us have confidence, then, in the blessed Spirit's power to comfort us.

Dear reader, are you looking forward to poverty? Fear not; the divine Spirit can give you, in your want, a greater plenty than the rich have in their abundance. You know not what joys may be stored up for you in the cottage around which grace will plant the roses of content. Are you conscious of a growing failure of your bodily powers? Do you expect to suffer long nights of languishing and days of pain? O be not sad! That bed may become a throne to you. You little know how every pang that shoots through your body may be a refining fire to consume your dross — a beam of glory to light up the secret parts of your soul.

Are the eyes growing dim? Jesus will be your light. Do the ears fail you? Jesus’ name will be your soul's best music, and his person your dear delight. Socrates used to say, “Philosophers can be happy without music;” and Christians can be happier than philosophers when all outward causes of rejoicing are withdrawn. In thee, my God, my heart shall triumph, come what may of ills without! By thy power, O blessed Spirit, my heart shall be exceeding glad, though all things should fail me here below.

 

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Guest Post, Crystal Ingle: Don’t Doubt His Promises



I’ve been stringing pearls with recent themes on prayer in the podcasts.[1] And we were challenged today as our pastor preached on a parallel track. So we’re going to offer another teaching that came from one of Crystal’s messages.[2] She hones-in on some specific Biblical passages that give us promises on prayer that we can hold on to. This is like the ancient idea of stringing pearls where we bring together various Scriptures for a richer meaning.


Don’t Doubt His Promises
V. Raymond Edman, who was a minister and an author, was the 4th President of Wheaton College for 25 years. I love this quote. One of my professors in college used it quite often. “Don’t doubt in the dark what God has told you in the light.” In other words, don’t doubt His promises, but in order not to doubt them, you have to know what they are. So let’s review a few.

Promises
2 Timothy 2.13: If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. (NASB)
Psalm 103.2-5: Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;

Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. (NASB)
Philippians 4.19: And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (NASB)
Isaiah 53.5: But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed. (NKJV)
Isaiah 40.29-31: He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,

They will walk and not become weary. (NASB)
Hebrews 13.5: Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (NKJV)
1 John 1.9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (NKJV)
John 8.36: So who the Son sets free, is free indeed!
So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. (NASB)
Response
That we will do the greater works (John 14.12).
He came to restore all things to Himself (Colossians 1.20).
He is who He says He is: Healer, Life, Friend, Joy, Peace, Grace, Merciful, Light and Life, Abundance, the great I AM!

 

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Our Comfort & Refuge The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him. Nahum 1:7 NASB __________________ The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. Psalm 9:9,10 KJV __________________ If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. Psalm 37:23,24 NIV __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“thy gentleness hath made me great.”

Psalm 18:35

The words are capable of being translated, “thy goodness hath made me great.” David gratefully ascribed all his greatness not to his own goodness, but the goodness of God. “Thy providence,” is another reading; and providence is nothing more than goodness in action. Goodness is the bud of which providence is the flower, or goodness is the seed of which providence is the harvest. Some render it, “thy help,” which is but another word for providence; providence being the firm ally of the saints, aiding them in the service of their Lord.

Or again, “thy humility hath made me great.” “Thy condescension” may, perhaps, serve as a comprehensive reading, combining the ideas mentioned, including that of humility. It is God's making himself little which is the cause of our being made great. We are so little, that if God should manifest his greatness without condescension, we should be trampled under his feet; but God, who must stoop to view the skies, and bow to see what angels do, turns his eye yet lower, and looks to the lowly and contrite, and makes them great. There are yet other readings, as for instance, the Septuagint, which reads, “thy discipline”—thy fatherly correction—“hath made me great;” while the Chaldee paraphrase reads, “thy word hath increased me.”

Still the idea is the same. David ascribes all his own greatness to the condescending goodness of his Father in heaven. May this sentiment be echoed in our hearts this evening while we cast our crowns at Jesus’ feet, and cry, “thy gentleness hath made me great.” How marvellous has been our experience of God's gentleness! How gentle have been his corrections! How gentle his forbearance! How gentle his teachings! How gentle his drawings! Meditate upon this theme, O believer. Let gratitude be awakened; let humility be deepened; let love be quickened ere thou fallest asleep to-night.