Purpose and Power in the Resurrection

This Sunday we celebrate the victory of our great God over the curse once and for all... On Thursday Christ was arrested by the Jewish leaders, tried and sentenced to the most brutal death possible at the time. Death on the cross... As he was led to and hung on the cross Friday morning prophecy after prophecy predicted hundreds of years before came to completion... The authors of the New Testament recognize this and if you look to Paul's letters you see him spell it out - 

Romans 1:1-4
Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and singled out for God’s good news— 2 which He promised long ago through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures— 3 concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh 4 and who has been declared to be the powerful Son of God by the resurrection from the dead according to the Spirit of holiness.

Paul recognized that Christ was fulfilling the promises of the past and that because he was the descendant of David his throne, his rule, would last for ever (2nd Samuel 7:12-14). 

Finally Christ was declared the "powerful Son of God" not by Paul or any of the Apostles rather by his resurrection from the dead according to who? The Spirit of holiness! Remember the power of the Spirit back in Ezekiel 37? 

Death has no power when it comes to the Holy Spirit!

Because he lived a perfect life, man's sin debt was paid in full with his death and through his resurrection on the third day the rest of the curse on man was defeated once and for all --

Sin was overcome by his death, death was overcome by his life! 

Homer Rodeheaver got it right when he penned these words... 

I serve a risen Savior

He's in the world today

I know that He is living

Whatever men may say

I see His hand of mercy

I hear His voice of cheer

And just the time I need Him

He's always near

He lives He lives

Christ Jesus lives today

He walks with me and talks with me

Along life's narrow way

He lives He lives

Salvation to impart

You ask me how I know He lives

He lives within my heart

The Title on the Cross

As a Christ follower the details of his death, burial, and resurrection should be of the utmost importance to us. In John 19 we see the account of Christ's trial and death on the cross. His death while gruesome  has a major significance to us. Without Christ's death on the cross our sin debt would not have been satisfied. Sin would not have been defeated once and for all.

On route to his death however Christ encounters Pilate. Pilate makes several feeble attempts to free Christ, he didn't believe his accusers any more than he believed Christ was the Son of God but the priests and leaders of the day wanted nothing of it… in fact they were so anxious to see Jesus executed they were willing to forsake their national heritage… proclaiming they have no king except Caesar… 

So it’s only fitting that when Pilate handed Christ over to the execution squad the sign he had created read "Jesus of Nazareth: King of the Jews" nailed up on the cross for all to see…We see in vs 21-22 that as the chief priests read it they pleaded with Pilate to change it, feeling betrayed by Pilate they wished him to soften the statement or at least explain it – but Pilate stood his ground and said what is written is written thus the title was just one more example of the mockery that Jesus was to endure that day…

In comparison with the mocking of Herod’s men, Pilate’s soldiers, the robe, crown and scepter,  the brutal scourging, the hate of the priests and Pharisees, the cries of the mob…  this mocking title was quiet in tone with all the rest…

We can take the Roman’s words of mockery and read them calmly, truly ourselves. Little did Pilate dream how true those words of his were… He is the King, Sovereign, Ruler in a higher, wider, greater realm that Rome or Israel ever dreamed of…

Let our prayer be that He would make us true and loving subjects in His realm, to be owned in the new heaven and the new earth, as having followed His banner and upheld His Kingdom.

Have a great weekend see ya Sunday! 

Time?

Thanks to class I have been focusing on the realm of philosophy, specifically metaphysics the last few weeks and it has gotten my wheels turning –a dangerous thing for sure-

Augustine said something along the lines of, "If you don't ask me what time is, I can understand it. If you ask me what time is, I will not be able to understand it." 

Such an interesting question... What is time? Is time an illusion? A tool? Is it linear or cyclical? 

A simplistic definition of time would be that it is what a clock measures but that definition is a problematically vague and self-referential definition that utilizes the device used to measure the subject as the definition of the subject…

You could look at what religious texts have to say about time, the Bible does reference time in many different ways…

Time is fleeting likewise life is fleeting… there are many appropriate parallels there for certain…

I think when you look at the philosophical and spiritual aspects of time what it comes down to is this… Time is what we use to measure Life… in a sense time is life’s currency, one that we can spend wisely or foolishly…

We are each given a specific amount of life, a specific amount of time on this Earth (Acts 17:26). When our time on this Earth runs out we move to the place prepared for us, where that lies is up to us… We are faced with a choice to better our circumstances, to live for God, to be obedient in our walk, to trust in his name and plan for us…

Making this personal I think the better question we could ask ourselves rather than what is time would be what are we spending our time on? What are we spending the currency of our lives on?

Are you spending your time, spending your lives on pursuits of the flesh, pursuits of pleasure for today? Or are you seeking obedience in all things before the Creator of the Universe, the Savior of those who are called out to service? 

Mission to Cuba

Most all of you know by now of my passion for missions and my willingness and readiness to embark on mission trips and projects. Some of you have expressed interest in going but couldn't take off work, have family commitments, or something of the like and I totally understand! It's by God's grace and an amazing wife that I am able to take the trips that I do! However I have an opportunity for you now to be a part of something special without even having to leave your homes...

Last year we formed a special bond with Pastor William, his family, and his church as we worked along side them in digging footings for a new building and helping them to spread the gospel message in their community. Pastor William still needs our help. 13 of his churches leaders have taken leave of their jobs to work full time on building their new church building and home for Pastor Williams family. They have been able to secure financial assistance for 2 of those leaders but the rest of them have no income and are trusting in God to provide.

This is where you come in. The cost of living in Cuba is quite a bit different than here in the USA. In fact each of these leaders need only $20 a month to support their families. This is less than what it costs most of us to go out to eat for one meal after church...

Would you partner with us in providing these families with the support that they need for 1 year so that they can accomplish the work God has called them to do in building a new church?

Maybe you can only afford to cover 1 months pay, that's great! Maybe you can afford 6 months or a year, what a blessing! What ever you can give is appreciated and 100% of what is given will go directly into the hands of Pastor William to distribute to his leaders when we visit him in April.

$20 a month = $240 a year (Total goal 11 families/leaders = $2640)

If you would like to make a donation - you can either bring it by the church office during the week or make a check payable to First Baptist Church of Islamorada and place in the memo "Cuban Pastors".

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!!!