undeniable resurrection power

Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

Acts 26:8

And with that question Paul makes his defense before Herod Agrippa and Festus, the Judean governor appointed by Rome. His argument for the power of the resurrection is very compelling but not what we might expect. He doesn’t go on and on about the empty tomb. He doesn’t need to produce a shroud. He does not line up eyewitnesses like he does in 1 Corinthians 15. Rather, his preferred argument in his defense is the reality of the resurrection of Jesus and by implication conviction in a future resurrection for His saints that is centered on two-fold implications from Paul’s own personal testimony:

1.  A resurrected Jesus confronted Paul on the Damascus road, saved him, and commissioned him to preach the gospel.

2.  Paul’s own transformation experience from Jewish leader and hater of Jesus to apostle of Jesus and one hated by the Jews for preaching the gospel was a testament to life-giving power.

Paul’s transformed life was already something of an evidential exhibit to God’s resurrecting and transforming work. Paul’s complete turnaround from persecutor of Christianity to unashamed proponent and leader of the Christian movement was proof of this. God’s power was on display in the gospel message and the gospel messenger. The passion for the gospel was there because Paul encountered a real, live Jesus and then believed that His death and resurrection will also transform and resurrect all who believe in Him.

Paul turned the tables. The burden of proof for him was on those who needed to DISPROVE the resurrection. For Paul, this was impossible to do. God’s power was displayed in Christ’s resurrection,. That power is also displayed as the gospel brings new life every place it is preached. And this continues unabated even now. Every changed life is the evidence of the resurrection! How can we not believe when we have a resurrected Savior Who resurrects us to new life in Him and will resurrect us one day to eternal joy with Him?

prayer of the afflicted

For he has not despised or abhorred

the affliction of the afflicted,

and he has not hidden his face from him,

but has heard, when he cried to him.

Psalm 22:24

Oh Lord,

You are in control of everything that happens to me. You lead this life. You direct all circumstances. You lay the path before me and lead me as I walk in it.

And when the road is hard, I am well aware now that suffering is part of Your good design. My afflictions are never unknown or without good purpose. For countless generations You have led Your people through health and blessing, planting and harvest, hardship and hurt, and struggle and victory. You won’t stop now!

And not all afflictions are the same. Sometimes I suffer as a clear consequence of my own sin so that in Your mercy You might draw me to repentance. And other times because this world is so very broken by Adam’s Fall, there is suffering and difficulty… the thorns and thistles of my existence. Suffering is a part of every life… surviving is part of the task of living… and those perspectives are not fatalistic, but faithful for those who follow You, Lord.

For Christians, You may deem us worthy to carry on the afflictions of Christ. We may suffer for His sake, hated by the world, judged by those under Your judgment, and mocked by those who hate You.

I know this: You hear me in my afflictions. You respond with grace, healing, and mercies to all my sorrows. You never hide Your face from me. I believe this. I see it. I rejoice to be worthy to experience Your good hand in hard seasons.

I have one primary purpose in my life: to worship You, my God! I will sing Your praise and declare Your glory.

I have one primary mission in my life: to tell as many around me as I can about Your faithfulness and saving love. I will make my God and Savior known by Your sustaining love!

Amen

passionate for the gospel

Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”

Acts 23:6

Paul was transformed by the gospel. And that was a problem for the Jews. He had been a fierce opponent of Christianity when he first heard about Jesus. He had been meticulously educated to defend the Jewish Law in the highest school of Judaism in his day (Acts 22:3). He was zealous to keep the Law and agreed to persecute Christians to wipe out what was seen as a heresy (Acts 22:4-5).Until Jesus Himself confronted him on the road to Damascus and in that encounter turned him from passionate resister to passionate proclaimer of the gospel (Acts 22:6-16).

Paul was then dedicated to proclaiming the gospel despite his notorious past of persecution. He became God’s chosen apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21).

And as the events played out in Jerusalem here in Acts 23, the Jews have had quite enough of his gospel-preaching commitment to bring Jesus’ Way to the Gentiles. Paul is still very passionate for the gospel. In fact, he shrewdly appeals to the gospel’s biggest offense to Judaism: The resurrection of Jesus from the dead as the hope of resurrection for all believers. And that appeal blasts his accusers into disarray so divisively that a Roman guard has to whisk Paul away from Jewish religious authority, putting his fate from that moment on in the hands of the very Gentiles Jesus had called him to reach. The gospel in that sense saved Paul again… quite literally.

Lord,

When I read of this kind of courage in Paul with the gospel I am humbled. I pray that a passion for the gospel would indeed rest in my soul. I pray I will live for its advance and rest in gospel hope.

Amen

Grace before my eyes

For your steadfast love is before my eyes,

and I walk in your faithfulness.

Psalm 26:3

Grace before my eyes

I see in the light

of Your salvation

gospel lens correcting me

steadfast love sustaining me

in Your grace I see

what You are making me

Faithfulness before my feet

I walk in the path

of Your salvation

Your Word leading the way

Your Spirit helping me stay

from Your path I will not stray

as You lead me every day

Jesus before my heart

transforming me in the power

of Your sanctification

holiness is what You’ve decreed

and through forgiveness met my need

from lies and wickedness now freed

I will follow where You lead

He does what we cannot.

For your name's sake, O LORD,

pardon my guilt, for it is great.

Psalm 25:11

God forgives because He is forgiving. God pardons guilt because He is God. He does it all for His name’s sake. God is good and that is why He forgives. He removes guilt. He takes care of sin because we cannot. As the prayer in this verse lets us know unequivocally: We bear great guilt for our sin. We need a great Savior!

Unless we think this is just a singular confession in this psalm, look at how David repeatedly deals with his need for pardon from a great God:

• His youthful sins need to be “remembered not” by a God Who will choose to remember steadfast love and goodness (Psalm 25:7).
• God instructs sinners (Psalm 25:8).
• God leads the humble in righteousness if they will come to Him confessionally (Psalm 25:8-9).

And then, after true confession and the assurance of forgiveness from a great God, David knows confidence in God.

• God instructs him (Psalm 25:12).
• God keeps him safe generationally (Psalm 25:18).
• God offers friendship (AMAZING!) (Psalm 25:14) as evidenced by His Word.
• God is gracious in affliction (Psalm 25:16-18).

So then confession of sin, although a regular need of ours to do, is a blessing. It leads to a knowledge of God, deepening trust in old, and a confidence in the God of our salvation. How much more in the completed work of Christ can we rejoice in a wise, loving, gracious, and forgiving God. And this God is our friend in Christ!

do, keep, and dwell

Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and perform them, and then you will dwell in the land securely.

Leviticus 25:18

Two active commitments are described in this verse for Israel to accomplish under the Law. There is a promise for them if these commitments are made and followed.

1. “Do my statutes.” The word “do” means “to bring to accomplishment.” It is a completion, not just a performance of a task. God expected Israel to commit to a complete obedience to His Law. The word “statutes” is specific to the Leviticus Law referenced in the context of this promise. These written ordinances were expected to be performed exactly as described in their entirety.

2. “Keep my rules.” The idea of “keeping” involves “guarding” or “treasuring” what God commands. It gets to motivation. God expects not mere rote performance, but respect, reverence, and personal investment in protecting the covenant commitments with and from His people. What they kept (the rules) were all the specifics… they could not just pick and choose. All of God’s Law needed to be precious as Israel performed what God asked.

There was a promise to this short restatement of the covenantal commitment. The promise was that Israel would “dwell securely”. This meant that they could live in peace. It meant that God would give them a true home in the Promised Land. When Israel first heard this promise, they were wandering in the Sinai desert under punishment for sin. But keeping covenant with God (something they always were expected to do and eventually failed at every attempt, by the way) would see a reward of stability and security.

How does this apply to Christians? We aren’t Israel. We aren’t stuck in a desert waiting for a better home. We find all of this covenant fulfilled in Jesus. He “did” what God demanded. He accomplished perfect obedience (Romans 5:19). Jesus fulfilled the Law completely (Romans 8:3-4) so that we might be seen as those who did what God demanded and who kept all of God’s rules. And in our Savior we now dwell securely as His Holy Spirit lives in us (Colossians 3:17-19). This culminates in ultimate security: God dwelling among us and with us (Revelation 21:3).

King of Glory

Lift up your heads, O gates!

And be lifted up, O ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory?

The LORD, strong and mighty,

the LORD, mighty in battle!

Psalm 24:7-8

The world is Yours.

All who live on this ball

are ruled by the King of all

the One Who fills the rolling seas

directs the rivers where You will please

Holiness is Yours.

Who can climb Your holy hill?

Who can fully do Your will?

We need clean hands and a pure heart

to stand before a God from whom we are apart

Salvation is Yours.

We bless Your name

seeking to spread Your holy fame

blessings that we do not deserve

flow from Your gracious reserve

We are Yours.

We see Your face

know blessing by Your grace

a generation seeking only You

rewarded by faith in what You do

Glory is Yours.

Our worthy King!

Enter through gates as we sing

be lifted up, you ancient doors

as praises ring out from us even more

Strength is Yours.

Mighty and strong

You help us along

battles won, victory claimed

King of Glory is Your name!