"However God released Him from the horrors of death and raised Him back to life again, for death could not keep Him in its grip." Acts 2:24....."And the apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus...." Acts 4:33......." No, I will not abandon you as orphans - I will come to you." John 14:18
There are so many things about Jesus that I continue to be amazed at. Indeed, increasingly amazed at. None more so than His faithfulness. I love His promise to us in John 14:18, that He will not abandon us, that He will come to us. In every kind of place and need, He will come. And He will come in the fullness of His resurrection life...if we will receive Him. The One who could not be held even by death, will come to us offering us that same life as well. What happens when we receive that life will not only change our world and lives, it will impact the world we live in and the lives we come into contact with. We will, as did the apostles, give witness to the resurrection and life of Jesus Christ. There is no question as to Him coming to us. The questions for us are; have we received His life, and do we give witness to the power of His life? If we cannot fully answer "yes" to the questions, are we willing to allow His Spirit to probe as to why? Can we face the truth that, at least in some part, we continue to allow death to hold us in its grip, and so remain in its captivity? A captivity it has no right to hold any in who are His.
The other day I spoke on how when Jesus Christ comes to us, He comes in ever aspect and phase of our lives, past, present, and future. Satan, the enemy of our souls will be relentless to maintain a death-grip upon us in any and all of these areas. Be it through the wounds, betrayals, abuses and losses of the past, the very real threat in our present, or the fear of a completely unknown future. To all of these places He comes. And He comes as One who has fully conquered death and broken its grip. The grip it seeks to maintain upon us through our yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows. No matter "how far the curse" has been found in our lives, He has won the victory. No matter how deep the wound, the heartbreak, the loss, He is sufficient. He is more than enough. I cannot fully tell you how this is so, only that it is so. But it can only be if we will receive Him as He comes to us in any and all places in our lives.
This was brought to mind to me yesterday as I shared in prayer how, many years ago, He exposed a deep, hidden anger in my life that I had not really known was there. When it happened, the power of that anger shocked me....and broke me. It held me in a captivity I could not free myself from, but one in which He already had....if I'd but receive it. I received it, and in it, became free......It was not the last time He would come to me in such a way, and the next time He does so will not be either. On this side of eternity there will be a continuous need, whether it be anger, loss, fear, shame, or countless other "death-grips." He comes. He has come. I need only receive Him....right where I'm at, because He's already there.
How about you? He has come to you. He's not abandoned you. Will you receive Him? Whatever the death-grip, by the power of His resurrection, He's broken it. Until this happens, we will never give witness to His resurrection. Let it be broken. Let us give witness. He has come to us...in all places. Let us receive Him.
Blessings,
Pastor O
The other day I spoke on how when Jesus Christ comes to us, He comes in ever aspect and phase of our lives, past, present, and future. Satan, the enemy of our souls will be relentless to maintain a death-grip upon us in any and all of these areas. Be it through the wounds, betrayals, abuses and losses of the past, the very real threat in our present, or the fear of a completely unknown future. To all of these places He comes. And He comes as One who has fully conquered death and broken its grip. The grip it seeks to maintain upon us through our yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows. No matter "how far the curse" has been found in our lives, He has won the victory. No matter how deep the wound, the heartbreak, the loss, He is sufficient. He is more than enough. I cannot fully tell you how this is so, only that it is so. But it can only be if we will receive Him as He comes to us in any and all places in our lives.
This was brought to mind to me yesterday as I shared in prayer how, many years ago, He exposed a deep, hidden anger in my life that I had not really known was there. When it happened, the power of that anger shocked me....and broke me. It held me in a captivity I could not free myself from, but one in which He already had....if I'd but receive it. I received it, and in it, became free......It was not the last time He would come to me in such a way, and the next time He does so will not be either. On this side of eternity there will be a continuous need, whether it be anger, loss, fear, shame, or countless other "death-grips." He comes. He has come. I need only receive Him....right where I'm at, because He's already there.
How about you? He has come to you. He's not abandoned you. Will you receive Him? Whatever the death-grip, by the power of His resurrection, He's broken it. Until this happens, we will never give witness to His resurrection. Let it be broken. Let us give witness. He has come to us...in all places. Let us receive Him.
Blessings,
Pastor O
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