Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.”
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The worst thing Imperial Rome could do to punish anyone was to nail him to a wooden cross. Hour after hour of extreme pain would be the far beyond the limit of cruel and inhuman punishment. So why, in the grand plan of God did Jesus have to endure it? It is an ugly picture of man’s worst. Jesus on the cross, why? Why did God’s perfect plan include a crown of thorns? Why would a blameless and perfectly loving person have to die?
That body slain for things He had not done was for a reason. It was for me! It was so I can have my own personal shortcomings and willful disobediences separated from me. All that would weigh me down and slow me are rolled away. It is only at the cross that I can see the light of forgiveness and assurance.
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Lord, I am no longer living in my willful disobedience because I am living in you. I thank you and release my past for the best future.
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Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
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Paul, writing to the Romans disturbs me. How do I know that God is causing the infinite and the totality of things to become good? War, pain, pandemic, unrest, in the large, and the weakness of my life, the small, become good? I live a life of gradual delegation to inactivity and frailty, how can these things become good? Ministry seems so far off. I struggle to be all that God wants of me. I must take the voice of Paul who faced terribleness and trust God to be in my imperfect world. I must love God and acknowledge his purpose. I must keep making one step at a time. I well understand the happenings of my life are to make me different. To make me better. I already have received the greatest miracle of all, which is eternal life. I will continually keep crying out to God knowing His Word is true. All things transformed into good. It is a miracle.
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March 5, 2023
Jeremiah 32:27 “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”
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There are three stages of the work of God: the impossible, the difficult, and the done. Miracles still happen. Just because we do not see people raised from the dead regularly does not mean God is not in the miracle business. The Lord receives glory from the miracles He does every day in our lives. We must continue to press Him in prayer for the miraculous and not settle so quickly into doubt, anxiety, or fear. Miracles will continue until morale improves.
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I John 2:17 “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
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We live in a world of distractions. Thousands of voices call us to change our focus from what really matters. These voices use our feelings of inadequacy to charm, seduce and dominate our lives. We have an idea that our lives must be lived to the fullest. That every moment must be crammed full. Our attention span shrinks in the onslaught of these distractions. All these things that would grab us and enthrall our minds are just fleeting. Whatever achievement, thrill, or body enhancement we accept into our sphere of life will mean little 50 years from now. Our infatuation with the now is simply tragic. Look to the unseen, the invisible realities of hope and faith in Christ for true fulfillment. Do so and live not in the moment but forever
The Study of God and Life
