Today my heart was drawn to what Paul called ‘of first importance’ and I meditated there.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time…(3-6).
Jesus died for our [MY] sins… Jesus died a meaningful death. His death was for our, MY, sins. Because of all the junk and sin and hurts and wrongs I have done Jesus died. And this is not some prisoner of war story where one prisoner dies because someone in the camp did something wrong. NO, Jesus died to atone for my sins. To pay the penalty that my sins deserved and because Jesus died for my sins, I do not have to face the penalty my sins deserve. It is as if I am on death row and Jesus goes into the death chamber instead of me…
O, Jesus ,I praise and thank You! My heart rejoices in You, my God, My Savior!
He was buried… Jesus really and truly died. It was no shame or fake… he died and then was put in a grave, which everyone thought was a permanent situation. He took my sins and buried them with Him. My sins are gone, buried…
Again I thank and praise You, Jesus. I should no more dig up my past sins as I should dig up some dead body. They are gone… my sins are gone, forgiven! Halleluiah.
He was raised… Now God does something new and unexpected. It was not the end of Jesus as we expected. He was raised. Hope was born. There is more to life than what I live in this mortal body the 70 or 80 years I get before I die. There is a full life, a new life, a fully-spiritual life after the grave. Jesus is the first fruit… I [we] am of the next crop of fruit. Since He died for my sins I will live again like Jesus lived again. This tells me, too, that I am living for much more than what I see here in the life if live right now. I have one foot in this world, but another, figuratively, in the next and I need to live as a child of both worlds…
O, God, I have a purpose bigger than making sure I have a plan for retirement. I have a purpose that will last for eternity and I need to live like that. Help me, O God, help me. I can become so ‘this world’ focused. Forgive me and help me live to honor You.
According to the Scriptures… God’s Word, the Bible, the Old and New Testaments is true and secure and faithful and reliable. I can build my life on the surety of God’s Word.
O, God, I trust Your Word. Help me to read it and study it and meditate on it WELL. O, Holy Spirit, open my eyes to the truth of Your Word.
He appeared… Jesus didn’t keep His resurrection a secret… He told people, lots of people. He told the 12, His closest associates but He also told many more. That He told 500 shouts to me Jesus wanted the world to know that He was raised. Jesu’s resurrection was not a magician’s parlor trick. It was real and people knew it. And, apparently these people told people and so that chain of witnesses has stretched its links all the way to me. Now I need to continue the chain and tell others… that Jesus died for their sins, was buried and was raised, according to the Scriptures, and then He appeared to people.
O, God, give me unction to tell others the great and awesome story of our faith… the story of Jesus, who died for them. Amen
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