I Am Alive, Now What?
John 11:21-26; 1 Corinthians 15:12-58
I have a summer virus. I know whose fault it is: Adam! If he had only obeyed God I wouldn’t be in this mess. But no, he disobeyed. Sin entered mankind through him along with disease, disability and death, because of the one act of disobedience. But Jesus changed the possibilities by providing eternal life and one day, I will have a body possessing all the life-giving power of the Spirit of God. Victory! Death defeated!
My three-year-old sister died when I was 12. My parent’s faces showed the crushing agony of grief. My father cried as he told my brother and I our sister was dead. I watched, thru time, how the living Lord Jesus Christ rescued my parents and our family from the whirlpool of grief. I watched my mother use her sorrow, focused on the hope of the resurrection, to minister to other women who lost little babies and children. I would observe my mother in the kitchen, Bible open on the table. She was reading, crying, praying, and holding broken-hearted mothers sharing the comfort she found guaranteed by the hope of the resurrection. Brothers don’t waste your sorrows, instead harness them to the hope of the resurrection, you’ll be a more effective men of God.
Before I knew Jesus I was unable to obey the requirements of the law. Why? Because the power of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15:56). The law is good but only tells me what not how. This leads to the unspoken attitude, in many churches and individuals, of “Thank you, Jesus for my salvation. I’ll take it from here”. This attitude leads to all kinds of interpersonal chaos. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead and I along with Him (Romans 6:4,5; Romans 5:10b) I can only walk in newness of life as I yield to the Holy Spirit as he focuses me on the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:1-4 ). God’s purpose for me is only fulfilled in the living Lord Jesus Christ. Are you aligned with God’s view of you (Ephesians 2:4-10)?
Will you join me as I keep my focus on the resurrected Christ today?
Today’s Affirmation:
I will live the resurrected life in hope guaranteed by God Himself. Pastor Bob Wood is a disciple maker and attend Davisville Church in Southampton, PA. You can email him at Dgtbob@aol.com
Daily Bible Reading: Lamentations 3-5; John 6:45-71
Think About This: You will have no test of faith that will not fit you to be a blessing if you are obedient to the Lord. I never had a trial but when I got out of the deep river I found some poor pilgrim on the bank that I was able to help by that very experience. A.B. Simpson
This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him. Psalm 32:10
Freedom Fighters 
Pastor Bob’s Freedom Fighters post is so true. A few hours after I entered the hospital more than two weeks ago, the chief surgeon along with a somber group of MD’s gathered at my bedside and told me that they had found a mass in my small intestine and I would need emergency surgery the next day. As they told me this, I literally began to shake even as I tried to keep my composure. Friends and family were praying for me. A friend, Pastor Doug V., wrote to me that growing older takes courage and grace. It’s not for wimps. By the next morning, the surgeon came to see me to say that while it was still serious, it was not as great an emergency as he had originally thought, and that my surgery could be put off. With each passing day, I was more yielded to the resurrected Christ. When the day of surgery arrived, I was no longer shaking, but was at peace with God and man. As I was wheeled into the O.R., the anesthesiologist asked me if I had any questions, and I asked him if he would be accepting my insurance. Thanks be to God, I have gone through the surgery and am home from the hospital with my dear and blessed wife. I am awaiting the lab results. I hope someone will be helped by hearing this, as per the Simpson quote following Pastor Bob’s enlightened and enlightening post.
In Christ, Jeff Ludwig