December 14, 2011 … Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] …
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: If you’ve been following this month as I dwell with John MacArthur on the subject of Christology, and even more specifically on Christ’s character of humility, it may seem like MacArthur and I are lingering with redundancy on certain elements of the Apostle Paul’s passage in Phil. 2: 5-11. Well, this may be so; but I can see that MacArthur is doing so because of the importance of the subject matter – and that is CHRIST. If we are to live up to the exhortation [in Phil. 2: 5] to be like Christ, then it’s vastly important that we understand EXACTLY Whom we’re emulating – and that’s our Lord and Savior. Hence MacArthur is dwelling [and I’m joining him] on the important aspects of Christ’s character this month. As I’ve said along the way, ”Stay tuned!”

Here we are again, looking at Christ’s exaltation after His death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven; and I must admit that if Strength for Today had not lingered on this subject, I would not likely have seen how important and wonderful this matter of Christ being exalted is to our knowing our Lord. Yesterday MacArthur mentioned – in passing – four components of Christ’s exaltation that we need to understand: resurrection, ascension, coronation, and intercession. Today our author/shepherd elaborates on the first two of these; and the first is RESURRECTION.

In Acts 13: 32 – 39 [PLEASE be sure to read this – linked for you here in NASB!], we read Dr. Luke’s account of Paul preaching to the Jews (and some Gentiles present) in a Synagogue in Antioch. There Paul gave the people a history lesson, preaching the good news of Christ being the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesies [several are referenced in this passage], Christ having been raised from the dead to save God’s people from their sin. In this passage in Acts, Paul’s preaching quoted from Ps. 2: 7, Is. 55: 3, and especially from Ps. 16: 10 where David had prophesied that The Messiah would never decay in the ground [a prophesy of Christ’s resurrection]. And MacArthur emphasizes this wondrous lesson where he writes, “Christ’s death and resurrection provided forgiveness and freedom from sin, the law, and death.” And we Christians, especially in these days of commercialized Christmases, need to take time to dwell on this gift of amazing grace to all mankind. And we need to recognize that without the truth of the resurrection, Christianity falls into nothingness.

Next we read from Acts 1: 9 – 11 and 2: 33 an exposition of the second component of Christ’s exaltation, … His ASCENSION, where our Messiah and Savior was lifted up to sit at the Right Hand of God, The Father, on His Throne of Glory in Heaven. And my beloved, we need to dwell on this! We will be exalted as well; but not until we live out this Spirit-enabled life as Christ’s witnesses (see Act. 1: 8); and we are either resurrected after our death or we are transported to Glory when Christ comes again. And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to wrap my finite mind around this latter truth … that God would think so much of ME that He would humble Himself as a man, walk on earth displaying His deity, die in humiliation on a cross, be resurrected by God’s Spirit, ascend to Heaven, be re-coronated by God, the Father, into His former Glory, and now to intercede for ME in Heaven. No, I may not completely grasp these truths; but I believe them as THE GOSPEL truth!

And tomorrow we’ll go into more of Christ’s exaltation … so, (yes), stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: And with Your charge, Lord, to witness in Your name, I go forth. Amen

April 25, 2011 … Resurrection – So What?

Passage of the Day: 1st Corinthian 15: 19a … If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

My Journal for Today: In his devotional for this date in Strength for Today, John MacArthur teaches about the hope we have in Christ’s death and resurrection to secure our faith by using a word picture from a Greek concept of the “archegos.” According to MacArthur, the “archegos” was the strongest swimmer on any Greek fishing boat, who was charged with the responsibility to swim to shore, carrying a line, if the boat was in trouble, which the “archegos” would then affix the line to a solid rock or tree, securing the boat’s safety. MacArthur says that Jesus is the Christian’s “archegos,” securing our boat of hope by going ahead, through the resurrection, to tie our rope of faith to the rock of His saving grace, … or better yet, to the tree where He died that we might live.

I’m very taken by MacArthur’s word picture; because without Christ going ahead of us from His grave (perhaps as depicted in Deut. 31: 8 and the prophesy of Psalm 22), this exercise of mine this morning to journal my way in God’s word or even to have any faith in Jesus Christ at all would be meaningless and a total waste of time. All the Bible study in the world or listening to sermons or giving our tithe to the church or witnessing my faith to others … all of it would be purposeless without Christ’s resurrection.

However, because Christ now is risen and His tomb lies empty in that rock somewhere near Jerusalem, I will live forever (see John 14: 19). And because He was raised and ever lives, my sins are justified (see Romans 4: 24 – 25); and my anchor of faith is tethered to the rock of my salvation forever, … my “Archegos.”

My Prayer Today: Again, Lord, I cry deep from within … “HALLELUJAH! Amen

April 24, 2008 … Resurrection – A Belief that Matters

Passage of the Day: 1st Corinthian 15: 12 … But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

My Journal for Today: We must remember, when looking at this passage today, that many in the Greek culture, to whom Paul was addressing this epistle, had trouble believing in Christ’s bodily resurrection because of Greek dualism, which taught that anything in the physical realm was evil. Therefore, a bodily resurrection would be repugnant to such seekers after faith in Corinth. So, in today’s verse, Paul proclaimed (i.e., “preached”) from the standpoint of personal eye-witness testimony, essentially saying that no one could counter his own claim of seeing Jesus as the risen Christ. Paul knew it was true and he literally staked his life on it (as we know from his historical martyrdom).

In point of fact, if one cannot – or will not – believe that Christ was dead and now lives, there would be no hope for that one to rise again to be eternally with Christ after his/her own death. All of Christianity rests on this doctrine of belief in the “gospel truth” as we know it. So, as you would have observed, if you’ve been reading my devotionals this month, the “resurrection” is the baseline, foundational doctrine of Christianity. If one pulls out that pin from the structure of our faith and discards it, faith in Christ comes crashing down as meaningless.

However, Christ did die; and praise His Name, He did rise again … as history in the Bible records over 500 witnesses gave testimony [see 1st Cor. 15: 6]. A brilliant former Christian hater like Saul of Tarsus could not have believed in the risen Christ and changed the way he did to become the Apostle Paul unless the evidence was incontrovertible, as he witnesses in today’s verse. And we can rest our faith – as do I – on the biblical and historical evidence we have available. Truth from the past and as the very word of God proclaims, as did Paul in today’s passage, that Christ is risen!

I may never have seen the risen Christ as did His disciples, those 500+ witnesses, and the Apostle Paul, but no one can say to me that I haven’t seen the effects of life transformation that has taken place in the life of one who, like Paul, used to be a Christian hater and, also who, like Paul, has become one who lives (and would die) to share the Lord with others. And I think of men, far more intellectual than I, … former atheist thinkers like former scientist and now Christian apologist, Josh McDowell, British author, C.S. Lewis, and lawyer/journalist, Lee Strobel, … all brilliant men who decided to examine the historical data and came to the conclusion that Jesus of Nazareth did – IN FACT – die and was raised from the dead. And like yours truly, they all finally and inexorably put their faith in the doctrine of the resurrection; and they all, like me, saw their lives become transformed by that belief.

Christ does live in my witness; and my faith in Him allows Him to live in me! And if you’re reading this, I pray that you just said, “Amen, Bill !!!”

My Prayer Today: HALLELUJAH! HE LIVES!! Amen

April 22, 2011 … The Church Testifies to the Resurrection

Passage of the Day: 1st Corinthians 15: 1 … (underlined in context)] Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

My Journal for Today: My entry today, though prompted by John MacArthur’s poignant devotional for today in Strength for Today, is a very personal and pertinent one for me.

I believe one of the most powerful and provocative questions a Christian can ask a non-believer is this: “How do you explain the historical fact and the long-term impact of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth?” Really, for a skeptic to reject Christ, he/she has to be able to explain away the fact/reality of a living Christ and One Who arose from the dead, … as well as why so many intelligent people have come to believe that through the ages.

Unfortunately during many years of my searching for spiritual strength and truth as a self-labeled “agnostic,” no one ever asked me that question. Here I was, searching into all of the “isms” of my day, … Buddhism, Taoism, New Ageism … and finding nothing which satisfied my soul! If someone had asked me the question above as a young, pride-filled man, challenging me to look at the facts, like many other former atheists had done, … much more brilliant men than I, … men like C.S. Lewis, Josh MacDowell, and Lee Strobel, I believe I could have been saved a lot of agony and foolhardiness earlier in my life. But, of course, God knew what He was doing; and what I needed to experience to be able to see truth; and in His time and in His way, he opened my “eyes” to the truth of Christ’s resurrection.

Now I recognize that even though thinking precedes doing, one is not saved through the mind. Being “converted” from self to Savior takes a heart decision; and, somewhat like the Apostle Paul, I had my heart confrontation on a road one day in 1983, where I heard a testimony (on tape) of young man who had become a quadriplegic but one who had found spiritual strength in Christ, the spiritual strength I had been seeking so unsuccessfully in the “isms” of my day. God used my head, i.e., my reasoning powers, to get to my heart; and I made that heart decision based upon my mental understanding of a set of wild circumstance which occurred on the morning of April 13, 1983. So, you can’t tell Bill Berry that God can’t use the head to get to the heart. The Lord certainly did with me.

The Apostle Paul in today’s passage, focusing on 1st Cor. 15: 1, was writing to a tough group of readers, the Corinthians, … former intellectuals and idolaters, who had been enmeshed in a deeply immoral culture (sound familiar – maybe a lot like here and now?!). But Paul in this entry verse to one of the most powerful presentations of the gospel in all of the New Testament [i.e., 1st Cor. 15], attests to the belief of the Christians in Corinth. And John MacArthur, in Strength for Today, points out that The Church over the centuries has continued to testify to the reality of Christ’s resurrection. And we who believe today, now knowing the truth of the resurrection, should (no, “MUST!”) praise our Lord for what He did in being raised to save us all – i.e., all who believe He did so.

Today I happen to be writing this devotional entry in a year where this date is “GOOD FRIDAY,” that day where we Christians remember Christ’s horrible death on the cross. Yes, and as horrible as that Friday once was for our Lord on that cross, we can – from our historical perspective and the truth of the Bible reflect on the day of His resurrection, which lay ahead. And, as the title to a wonderful sermon Tony Campolo once reported that his African-American Pastor had given at a Good Friday service in his church, let me record on this day … It’s Friday; … But Sunday’s comin! [* see note below]

And so, if you are reading this as a believer who has any non-believers in your life, … maybe relatives, friends, or co-workers, … ask them the challenging question I opened with above: …“How do you explain the historical fact and the long-term impact of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth?”

Their answer could well shape their eternal future.

My Prayer Today: I believe, Lord! Amen

* Readers who wish to see Tony Campolo reflecting on his Pastor’s now famous sermon can go to You Tube and put “Tony Campolo” in the You Tube search engine. You’ll find several excerpts of Campolo’s famous speech there.

April 21, 2011 … The Centrality of the Resurrection

Passage of the Day: Matthew 28: 5 – 6 … 5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.

My Journal for Today: In these verses, we read of the fulcrum upon which all of human history rests … the redemption of our past and the hope of our future, all resting in one fact … that “HE IS RISEN!” As John MacArthur puts it in [b][i]Strength for Today[/i], “The fact of Jesus’ resurrection is the culmination of redemptive history and the essential basis of the Christian faith.”[/b] The Apostle Paul, inspired by God’s Spirit, recognized this fact when he wrote the following in [b]1st Cor. 15: 13 – 14[/b]…

SCRIPTURE: 1st Cor. 15: 13 … If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

In the Old Testament (i.e., the Old Covenant), it was faith in the coming Messiah that led those prophets and saints into heaven, as with Abraham (Heb. 11: 19) or Daniel (Dan. 12: 1-5). However, now, in the New Covenant we must have faith in the risen Messiah, as the Lord, Jesus, preached and prophesied it (see Mark 8: 31).

Therefore, again, under the New Covenant, the resurrection of Jesus, which was given witness by over 500 people [see 1st Cor. 15: 6], led eleven of the remaining Apostles, as well as the Apostle Paul, to be martyred for their faith and their desire to spread the message of Jesus’ resurrection and the good news which was wrapped up in that event.

And finally, after the resurrection, as our Lord ascended into heaven to be re-glorified unto His place on God’s throne, He charged us all of His disciples to spread this resurrection good news. It was His GREAT COMMISSION; and if one memorizes and internalizes any of God’s word, this one passage ought to be right at the top of the list …

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 28: 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

What more need be said in devotion to this truth? He is risen; … He is risen indeed!

My Prayer Today: Yes, Lord, … that is my desire – for all to see You as risen. Amen

2010 – September 24 – Rest and Rise!

Blogger Note: I was late today getting this posted. Actually I did his journal entry quite early this morning; but I couldn't get it posted due to a personal interruption. But here is the word God gave me today >>>

Study from God’s Word… Daniel, Chapters 10 – 12 … Passage for Reflection: Daniel 12: 13 … NIV [God to Daniel] As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.

My Journal for Today: I’m always in awe of God’s timing in my daily studies of His word and my time with Him each morning. And today, the very day before I go, along with my family, on a 10 day vacation for some family “R&R,” I’m led by Dr. LaGard Smith’s devotional, published two years ago, to a promise made to Daniel (and really to all believers in the God of Abraham) about another type of “R&R,” which will be experienced by all Christians after physical life runs out.

In this last verse in the book of Daniel, God gives His prophetic servant a promise that one day Daniel will be given a time of REST, followed by time where Daniel (or we Christians) will RISE again. And this, my dear one, is God’s promise of the ultimate R&R, … the time of spiritual rest we will have in the Intermediate Heaven and then the time of eternal resurrection/renewal we will experience when Christ comes again for His Bride, the Church. And this is the glorious promise any believer can rest in, even here on earth, … that one day I will, like Daniel, be lain to rest; and then one day will be risen and renewed, with a new body, to spend eternity with our Messiah, Lord, and Savior.

My friend, many times I go on with a lot of word in my devotional times; but I’m just going to stop here – as I hope you do as well – and meditate on the glory of the ultimate “R&R” which awaits me as a born-again Christian.

My Prayer for Today: O, my Lord, how I look forward to both my time of rest and my resurrection to be with You in Glory forever. Amen

PS: If you want a great look at what the ultimate R&R will be like, I would recommend the following book of mediation about Heaven by Randy Alcorn. Go to this link for access to Alcorn’s inspired book.

2010 – September 2 – When Dead Bones Come to Life

Study from God’s Word… Ezekiel, Chapters 37 – 39 … Passage for Reflection: Ezekiel 37: 4 - 5 … NIV 4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "

My Journal for Today: What a bazaar picture described in today’s devotional text, … that famous passage about the dry bones coming to life which inspired that great Negro Spiritual, which you may have sung, somewhat jokingly, “the toe bone connected to de foot bone, … the foot bone connected to the ankle bone,” and so on. But though God’s sense of humor may seem to be on display here, I like Dr. LaGard Smith’s exclamation that in this word picture God, to Ezekiel, was being “dead serious.”

God wanted Ezekiel, His Prophet, to see in this miraculous display a picture of the nation, Israel, being raised from death to life; but for us, in Christ, the Lord has taken this picture one step further, by bringing our Redeemer, Jesus, back from the dead to be the Lamb of God Who was resurrected to bring any who believe on Him back from death (in sin) to life (in Christ). In both instances we see the power of God to bring life out of death; and as the old spiritual acclaims, “… hear de word of de Lord!”

God was trying to show Ezekiel a picture of hope that showed him, beyond even his imagination, how to believe that the God of Israel was very capable of having victory over death. I think about Jesus showing a select few His ability, as the God-man, to conquer death when he raised Lazarus from the grave. And He showed his inner Disciples His power – as the Son of God – to have power over creation when He walked on the water. Even Ezekiel, as God’s prophet, apparently needed this type of over-the-top, wildly bazaar, image to see that God would one day raise the defeated children of God from the death grip of their sinfulness back to life to live in the land God had promised to them.

But how do we apply all this imagery to our lives today? And Dr. Smith asks the very pertinent question at the end of his devotional for today: ”If God can bring even dry bones to life, is there anything about my spiritual deadness He cannot wholly transform?”

Really, my friends, … .how much do we really believe? You may have believed enough to be sealed for eternal life; but do you believe that God can transform you from deadness into a life transformed into Christ’s own image? Do you believe enough to KNOW that God is bringing you back to complete life in Himself so that you can join the army of God just as the picture of the dry bones coming back to life depicted God restoring the Israelites into His chosen army, walking in march step to God’s way for God’s glory?

My friend, I revel in the thought that God saw fit to breathe His life back into my dead bones; and I walk today with Him rather than in the deadness of my sin. And that happened because He saw fit to die and be reborn into life, showing me that my dry bones can walk again in life through Him. Will you join me in my prayer today, by seeing your life in Christ, which has resurrected your dry bones into a living soldier for His glory? And if so, say with me …

My Prayer for Today: Hallelujah, Lord, … HALLELUJAH!!! Amen

2010 – June 15 – Grave Humor

Study from God’s Word… 2 Kgs 12: 21b, 14: 1-2 [2 Chron 24: 27b; 25: 1]; 2 Kgs 14: 3-6 [2 Chron 25: 2-4]; 2 Kgs 13: 20-21; 2 Kgs 12: 22-25; 2 Chron 25: 5-10; 2 Kgs 14: 7 [2 Chron 25: 11-12]; 2 Chron 25: 13-16; 2 Kgs 14: 8-14 [2 Chron 25: 17: 24]; 2 Kgs 13: 12-13, 14: 15-16; 2 Kgs 14: 16b, 23-24 … Passage for Reflection: 2nd Kings 13: 20 - 21 … NIV 20 Elisha died and was buried. Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring. 21 Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.

My Journal for Today: If you, as I have been doing, read through the books of 2nd Kings and/or 2nd Chronicles, you have to be impressed by the running and continuing disobedience of God’s chosen people, … yes, even their stupidity. These Jewish people who had been divided into the northern kingdom (Israel) and the southern tribe of Judah ever so repeatedly because subject to idolatry and the influences of the pagans surrounding them. And even with all of this, God is so long-suffering, giving His children prophets to speak against their disobedience, warning them of what is to come if they remain fixed in their disobedience; and also giving them many opportunities to repent.

And in the midst of all this serious political intrigue and warfare with Israel fighting their neighboring rivals and each other, in today’s text, highlighted by Dr. Smith’s devotional, God gives His people (and future readers of Scripture) a joke for the ages, … what Dr. Smith calls, “Grave Humor.” And don’tcha just love the pun!

Have you ever noted in God’s word that God has a sense of humor? Yes, occasionally our Lord, through history, as chronicled in His word, expresses a powerful truth in an incredibly humorous bit of history, getting a powerful point across in almost an absurd way. I remember how God used a donkey to convey a truth to Balaam in Numbers 22; and today’s passage is somewhat like that as well. I had read this passage from 2 Kings 13 in past Bible studies; but until today I had totally missed God’s punch-line here to His people; but God’s sense of humor certainly resonates with me today.

Think about it. Paganized Israelites, maybe just trying to escape the wrath of pagan warriors while burying a friend, throw their friend’s body in Elisha’s crypt where his bones rested; and then we read their friend came to life when that body touched the bones of Elisha. How cool is that?! And can you just image what those men felt like when they witnessed this absurd, but true, resurrection event?

Do you get the joke? Do you get what God is saying through this event, the news of which likely spread like wildfire through God’s people? God was saying that mankind must die to himself and be raised again by being cast into the tomb of God’s holiest. I don’t think I have to tell you where that imagery is headed prophetically, do I? As Smith often asks a personalize challenge question at the end of his devotional entries, he writes, ”If I want to overcome death, am I willing to jump into an open tomb for that to happen?” And that, my friend, is no joke!! No, it’s deadly (or rather, livingly) serious!

God was saying to his people with His incredibly picturesque sense of humor, that His people must die to themselves and follow Him into the grave, carrying their sins with them, and following their Savior so that they could be raised eternally as was that dead body who came into contact with the bones of Elisha. Is that not an incredible prophetic picture of what Jesus said to His disciples, as quoted by Matthew, Mark, and Luke when Jesus said to them, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross (daily), and follow Me… ?”

And I can only hope you’ve joined me by following our Lord into and out of His empty tomb, carrying in those daily – and deadly - sins, and being raised again unto life eternal through belief in the reason for our Lord’s death on that cross to save any who would follow Him.

My Prayer for Today: Oh, Lord, what a picture; and I hope all who read here get Your joke. Amen