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God's Love, Shalom , Christian, Mumbai, India, Peace,Easter Message
Shalomindia, Jesus, Grace, Faith
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The One
Necessary Thing
That I may know Him . . .
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing
I do . . . one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good
part, which will not be taken away from her. (Phi 3:10, Phi 3:13,
and Luk 10:42)
Phi 3:10 That I
may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and
the fellowship of his sufferings, being made
conformable unto his death;
Phi 3:13 but this one
thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Luk 10:42
But one thing is
needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which
shall not be taken away from her.
Paul's goal in life was to
grow in intimacy with the Lord "That I may know Him." He
wanted to know the Lord so well that his life would be transformed
into "resurrected living" in this spiritually lifeless world. He
humbly admitted that he had not yet reached such spiritual
maturity. "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended."
Thus, in light of his own need to grow, coupled with the
excellence of the goal, he had a single focus in his life: "one
thing I do." This one thing was his ongoing quest to know the
Lord more and more.
This focused quest is
similar to the heart that Mary demonstrated, as recorded in the
gospel of Luke. When Jesus visited the home of Mary and Martha,
Mary "sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word" (Luk_10:39).
Martha was functioning as a busy hostess, desiring to bless her
Lord. However, her busy labors distracted her from the one she was
attempting to serve. "But Martha was distracted with much
serving" (Luk_10:40). The solution was obvious to
Martha. She would insist that Jesus send her sister to help. "Lord,
do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?
Therefore tell her to help me" (Luk_10:40).
How startled Martha must
have been when Jesus indicated she was the problem, not Mary. "Martha,
Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things" (Luk_10:41).
The many concerns of Martha's ministry were causing anxiety and
inner turmoil. Her desire to serve the Lord had deteriorated to
self-pity and irritation. Then, Jesus offered an astounding
revelation that put everything into perfect spiritual perspective.
"But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part,
which will not be taken away from her" (Luk_10:42).
What an amazing truth: "one
thing is needed." That one necessary matter is Jesus. Mary
chose Jesus. She was at the feet of her master, getting to know
Him, listening to His words of truth and grace. This was Paul's
heart: "one thing I do . . . that I may know Him."
Dear Lord Jesus, shape in me a heart like Paul, like Mary. Stir
in me a passion to know You better. May this become the consuming
goal in my life. Forgive me for allowing busy service to eclipse
You, the one I desire to please. Help me to spend frequent quiet
times at Your feet. Then, when I rise up to serve You, may my
heart always remain at Your feet, abiding in You, Amen.
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“On
him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus."
Luk_23:26
They laid hold upon one
Simon, a Cyrenian; father of Alexander and Rufus, Mar_15:21
We see in Simon’s carrying
the cross a picture of the work of the Church throughout all
generations; she is the cross-bearer after Jesus. Mark then,
Christian, Jesus does not suffer so as to exclude your suffering.
He bears a cross, not that you may escape it, but that you may
endure it. Christ exempts you from sin, but not from sorrow.
Remember that, and expect to suffer.
But let us comfort ourselves with this thought, that in our case,
as in Simon’s, it is not our cross, but Christ’s cross which we
carry. When you are molested for your piety; when your religion
brings the trial of cruel mockings upon you, then remember it is
not your cross, it is Christ’s cross; and how delightful is it to
carry the cross of our Lord Jesus!
You carry the cross after
him. You have blessed company; your path is marked with the
footprints of your Lord. The mark of his blood-red shoulder is
upon that heavy burden. ‘Tis his cross, and he goes before you as
a shepherd goes before his sheep. Take up your cross daily, and
follow him.
Do not forget, also, that you bear this cross in partnership. It
is the opinion of some that Simon only carried one end of the
cross, and not the whole of it. That is very possible; Christ may
have carried the heavier part, against the transverse beam, and
Simon may have borne the lighter end. Certainly it is so with you;
you do but carry the light end of the cross, Christ bore the
heavier end.
And remember, though Simon had to bear the cross for a very little
while, it gave him lasting honour. Even so the cross we carry is
only for a little while at most, and then we shall receive the
crown, the glory. Surely we should love the cross, and, instead of
shrinking from it, count it very dear, when it works out for us “a
far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
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The Easter Message - Resurrection
Power |
TEXT: Matthew 28:1-10
Now after the Sabbath,
toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
went to see the sepulcher. And b ehold, there was a great earthquake; for an
angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone; and
sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow.
And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel
said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was
crucified. He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place
where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the
dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Lo,
I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great
joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said,
“Hail!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then
Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to
Galilee, and there they will see me.”
This is news of joy,
triumph, victory, and life. The words “go, run, quickly, tell” loom large,
and they urge us to hurry to tell the good news.
Every
account of the Easter event confirms the fact that the followers of Jesus were
overwhelmed. Because they were filled with grief and despair, they were slow to
believe. When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, she thought Him to be the
gardener, and it was not until He spoke her name that the truth came to her.
“Jesus said to her, ‘Women, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?’
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried
him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus
said to her, ‘Mary.’” (John 20:15-16) He walked with the Emmaus disciples
explaining the Scriptures to them, trying to help them understand that this had
been planned and predicted, but not until He sat down at the table with them did
they realize it was t heir Lord who had walked with them. When the women first
told the apostles what they had seen, “These words seemed to them an idle
tale, and they did not believe them.” (Luke 24:11) We also know that Thomas
doubted. “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and place my finger
in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
(John 20:25)
But
just as the dawn of Easter morning drove away the darkness, so gradually the
truth of Christ’s resurrection drove away despair and disbelief. It was a
great dawn, a new daybreak in human history, the beginning of a new covenant, a
whole new way of life. No other book has a climax of such triumph and joy as
that recorded in the Gospels, because there is only one Christ and only one
Easter. This is the great message that could not wait, the good news that had to
be told by a special messenger sent by God to announce it. “He is not here;
for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.” This is the
good news we must hurry to tell: “Because I live, you will live al so.” (John
14:19)
We are afraid of
things beyond our experience. We fear the unknown. We fear death, and we do not
want to die; we want to live. The message of Easter is “Do not be afraid.”
This is what the angel said to the women, and this is what Christ said over and
over. “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? The sting
of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who
gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Corinthians 15:55-57)
So
this is the good news. It is the best. It is the kind of news that makes us want
to jump and shout, run and tell. And that was exactly the angel’s directive:
“Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead.”
The women left the empty tomb and, feeling both fearful and joyful, they ran to
tell the good news.
The Resurrection and
Sanctification
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know . . .
what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe,
according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He
raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly
places. (Eph_1:18-20)
God wants us to experience the proper power source for living the Christian
life: "that you may know . . . what is the exceeding greatness of His power
toward us who believe." We who have been born again by the Spirit of God are
to live this new life by the power of God!
This is the power that our God wants to unleash upon us day by day. As great as
this display of power was, even more is available to us: "and
seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places." This mighty divine power
that brought forth Jesus from the dead, also raised Him to the right
hand of the Father in the heaven realm. Surely, this power is sufficient to lift
us out of any deadening situation of our minds or our surroundings.
The caterpillar doesn't remain a caterpillar. One day it weaves about its body a
cocoon and out of that cocoon emerges a beautiful butterfly. We do not
understand fully what has taken place. We know only that where a worm once
crawled in the dust, a butterfly now soars in the skies. So it is in the life of
a Christian. We receive a miraculous new birth when Jesus of Nazareth, the risen
Lord and Savior, comes to live within us.
This new birth connects us to the
supernatural, resurrection power of our Savior. But like an instrument that is
not used, we cannot experience this power unless we continue to invite God to
work in our lives.
Dear Lord , too many days and years have passed without
me turning to You for this mighty power. Too often I have lived by a power
that came from me - will power, emotional power, mental power. I repent for
relying upon such feeble resources. Lord, by Your grace I see that heavenly
resurrection power is to be my supply, so I look to You now for this work in
me, in Your mighty name, Amen.
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For all
occasions....
