Jesus Makes It Possible! - 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 26:6-7, “It is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me.” The Jews of Paul’s day were “earnestly” serving God day and night in order to receive the promise of the resurrection of life. As Paul says, this was their hope they were looking for. But for the Jews, this would be a futile hope. Their earnest serving of God was based on the notion that the hope of the Jews was obtainable by works, not faith. Paul says in Romans 9:30-33, “What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the ‘stumbling stone.’ As it is written: ‘See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’” Our participation in the resurrection of life is available only through faith. It is the faith modeled by Abraham in the book of Genesis that brings a righteous standing with God. “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6. The type of faith that Abraham modeled for us all was the type that manifests itself in life choices we make to serve God. James provides a wonderful explanation of this in James 2:18-24, "But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,' and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. How wonderful my participation in the resurrection of life is not dependent on my performance or I wouldn’t make it! It is my faith in the performance of Jesus Christ that brings the hope of that promise to fulfillment! What I do as a believer (my performance) manifests the saving kind of faith in my life that Abraham modeled for us. As Paul told King Agrippa, "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds." How wonderful Jesus has made heaven possible for us! 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.

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 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.