The Resurrection Of Jesus Christ Speaks Of What Is Coming - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 25:18-19, “When his [Paul’s] accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I [Governor Festus] had expected. Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.” When King Agrippa and Bernice came to call on the newly appointed governor, Festus, to pay their respects, Festus told Agrippa about Paul’s case. In his summary of it he observed that the nature of it was a dispute among the Jews of their religion and “about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.” The dead man Jesus who is alive! The world wants nothing to do with a dead man who is alive! If Jesus foretold his death and resurrection and if he did actually die and rise to life as he said he would, then all he taught is authenticated. It would mean that God’s coming judgment for sin is certain! For those who prefer to stay in the darkness because of their evil deeds, the resurrection of Jesus portends the certainty of a horrific future. On the other hand, for those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith, his resurrection provides us every certainty of our own resurrection to a new life spent with God- in an eternity devoid of sin, sorrow, suffering and pain. Beyond the absence of these things is the promise of eternal pleasures, “You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalm 16:11b. This is certainly an exciting hope we have! But for the unbelieving Jews, the awareness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ was something that had to be eradicated from the nation. Paul explains why in 2 Corinthians 2:15-16a, “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.” No wonder they wanted Paul put to death! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Jesus' Authenticating Resurrection - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 25:18-19, “When his [Paul’s] accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.” When Governor Festus explained Paul’s case to King Agrippa, he told Agrippa he unexpectedly found that Paul’s accusers pointed to religious issues and “a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive” when they had brought their charges against him. As Christians we are very acquainted with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a truth that I have become familiar with and am used to hearing about, as well as speaking of myself. But stepping back to consider anew the ramifications of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I find it a startling authentication of all Jesus spoke of, lived out, and made promise of when here on planet earth. Imagine: someone coming back after being dead for three days and speaking of the Kingdom of God and the things to come! Realizing that this person who had died and come back to life was God in the flesh himself provides all the motivation I need to want to know all he has to say about this life, as well as the life to come. The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves the claims he made of himself, the judgment to come and the redemption from sin we can all have if we embrace him in faith. Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Jesus Christ: The Light Of The World! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 25:3, “They [the chief priests and Jewish leaders] urgently requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.” The hostility toward Paul and the early church was intense, as we find in the book of Acts. In my mind the hostility springs from something Paul had to say about his evangelistic efforts, “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.” 2 Corinthians 2:14-16a. It is this stench of death that the gospel message brings to those who reject it, that, I believe, generates such hostility in their hearts. Jesus told Nicodemus that he was the light that came into the world and the reason people will reject the gospel message, those who have “not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” is that their deeds are evil and so they “loved darkness” fearing that their deeds will be exposed in the light, John 3:19-21. When the gospel message is rejected, it is done so on a calculated impulse. The desire to remain in sin overshadows the claims of the gospel message. I suspect the gospel is rarely rejected on the basis of someone being convinced its claims are spurious, but rather on a gamble that they can continue to live in darkness and somehow avoid the potential that God may exist and have to face his judgment. Nothing could be further from the truth and so when they encounter someone who has embraced the gospel it quite naturally engenders hostility as it impinges on the choice they themselves have made. And of course there is Satan who lashes out at God’s people through those who do his bidding… But the wonderful news is that Jesus Christ has overcome the world and the devil. Our inheritance is a certain thing in spite of the number of folks who are quite hostile toward the light our God has sent into the world. How wonderful it is he did send us his Son Jesus Christ! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

God: Transcendent And Sovereign - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 25:1-3, “Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, where the chief priests and Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. They urgently requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.” The Jews of Paul's day are seen here plotting and scheming to do away with him, God’s man. God has his own agenda and here we have man busy about the task of attempting to thwart God’s intentions and desires. To be sure, many of the Jews undoubtedly thought they were even doing God’s will as they set themselves against the purposes and plans of God regarding Paul. How far removed from knowing the God that created them, the God that loved them, the God that sent his only Son as a sacrifice of atonement for their own sins! Our God is transcendent and sovereign, far above anyone’s ability to thwart his agenda! In Psalm 115:3 we read, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” Proverbs 21:30 tells us, “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.” Indeed, as we read of these plotting Jews I am reminded of Proverbs 16:9 and 19:21, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” “Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.” Woe to the man who finds himself at odds with the plans and purposes of God! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Escaping The Wrath Of God - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 24:24-25, “Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, ‘That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.’” After Paul was imprisoned in Jerusalem, taken to Caesarea and had his trial before Governor Felix, Felix brought his wife, Drusilla and came to listen to Paul. Luke tells us that “Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come.” We read that Felix became afraid as he listened to Paul. Just what was it that Paul told the governor that caused this fear within him? What was it that Paul had to say about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come? The text doesn’t tell us but this is what I suspect Paul had to say given what he had said elsewhere. Paul talked about a holy and righteous God, the Creator of all things, to whom we must give an account of all we have thought, said or done. I think Paul told Felix that this Creator God is the judge of all mankind and will visit the fury of his wrath on all who have sinned. I think Paul spoke of the law and how it shows us just how sinful we are and subject to the wrath of God. As the Jews attempted to establish their own righteousness by keeping the law, they found in a very experiential way they were sinners who were incapable of living a godly life through their own self-control: they couldn’t keep the law! The domination of the sinful nature over someone who attempts to keep God’s law demonstrates they are hopeless and helpless before the wrath of God… except for one possibility… Jesus Christ! I’m sure Paul told Felix that God sent his own Son out of his love for man and visited his wrath on Jesus, taking our punishment and that if anyone embraces him in faith he can have Jesus’ payment for sin credited to his account with God. For anyone committed to what this world has to offer, this is a terrifying message. It is bad news followed with good news – certain judgment, but there is a way, only one way, Jesus Christ. For Felix to escape the certainty of God’s wrath he would have to do what Paul had done, give up life as he knew it and embrace Jesus Christ! What a message! No wonder Felix was fearful! All should be fearful as they consider facing the wrath of God Almighty! But what good news it is that Jesus Christ has paid for all our sins and that we can escape the wrath of God through him! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

God Offers So Much More! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 24:24-26, “Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, ‘That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.’ At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.” How fascinating that Felix often sent for Paul, to speak with him, hoping Paul would offer him a bribe! Undoubtedly Felix had heard that Paul came to Jerusalem with a sizable gift from the Gentile church for the strapped brothers in Jerusalem and so probably thought Paul was a man with “deep pockets”. What Felix unsuccessfully sought from Paul paled in comparison to what Paul was trying to give him. Felix wanted money; Paul offered him all of the riches that are ours in the Kingdom of Heaven! Felix sought what money could buy; Paul offered him eternal pleasures at the right hand of God! Psalm 16:11. Felix sought a life of ease for the short term; Paul offered him eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord! Felix sought what money could buy him; Paul offered him an opportunity to become a child of God! Had Governor Felix only reached out and grasped what Paul offered him, what an incredible inheritance Felix would have had. Instead, he only looked for a simple bribe! It is staggering to think of what folks will pass up in order to obtain so little… Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Life Beyond The Grave! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 24:15, “I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” As Paul gives his defense while on trial before Felix, he declares the hope he has in Jesus Christ. There is life beyond the grave! There will be a resurrection for all mankind. Some to eternal death, but for those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, there will be a wonderful resurrection to eternal life with our Lord! Not just mere words or a theological concept but an amazing reality to plan for! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.