April 6, 2021                                             IF  GOD  IS  FOR  US
Romans 8:28-31 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, and to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
It is a spiritual giant step forward when we come to know that God is for us. Many see God as one they must please in order to gain His approval and acceptance. Verse 28 above is a verse that we may often quote, but we may have questions about the verse and may have doubt and confusion about it when a tragedy of some sort strikes, or when disappointments come. How we respond when bad things happen reveals whether or not this verse is one of the bed-rocks of what we believe. A crucial core belief we must have is that God is conforming us to the image of His Son-that is the ‘big thing’ that is going on with us and God. We may not understand why things happen as they do, and we may have unanswered questions, but we can be assured that God is in the process of conforming us to the image of His Son. Do we believe that God is working all things for good? There is one condition we must be aware of when it comes to God working all things for good; He does indeed work all things for good but for a select group of people-not everyone. This promise is for those who love God and who are called according to His purpose. (In one sense, God shows His goodness to all people-the sun, the rain, etc.) Our loving God must not be in word only, must also be reflected by how we live; loving God from our hearts impacts how we live. To me, ‘being called to His purpose’ means that I am working with and cooperating with God as He works in me. If I resist Him, if I disobey Him, He still loves me, but He will allow more pressure, or ‘sand-paper’ to come in order to draw me to Him. This is the mystery part of this; even though we love Him and are called according to His purpose, He may still allow difficulties to come-that is part of the conforming process. No matter what we are experiencing, no matter what difficulties come our way, let us know deep within that God is for us-and because He is for us, nothing or no one can hinder His work in us. You and I are in the process of being conformed into the image of Jesus!
Philippians 2:13 “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
Psalm 62:1-2 “Truly my soul quietly waits for God; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
April 4, 2020                                 AND BE NOT UNBELIEVING, BUT BELIEVING
Matthew 28:7-8 “And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going before you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.”
John 20:27-29 “Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach here your fingers, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.’”
The crucifixion of Jesus, the very Son of God who came to save, was the darkest days in all of history. BUT, the resurrection of Jesus, was the greatest and most wonderful day in all of history. In less than a week, we had the darkest of days and the greatest of days. As I read the account of the resurrection of Jesus, two things stands out; Jesus wanted to see His disciples, and there was a sense of an awesome, indescribable joy among the followers of Jesus. At is death on the cross, it seemed that all dreams and hopes were crushed-BUT His death meant that a resurrection would follow just three days later. They thought they would not see Him again, BUY they did! The good news is that Jesus sought out His followers after He rose from the dead-and He seeks us out as well and He desires to be with us. When we embrace the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead, joy will fill our hearts just as it did the disciples; can you visualize it-life came back into dead flesh and bones; the heart began to beat and the blood began to flow through His veins, breath came back into His lungs, muscles began to move-then He stood up and walked out of the tomb-death was conquered! We may doubt as Thomas did, but even so, Jesus, the Son of God, comes to us to reassure us that though He was dead, He now lives again. To believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus makes all the difference. He is alive today and He loves us and He desires to fellowship with you and I. It may be difficult to grasp the full meaning of this, but we died to our old self when Jesus was crucified, and we share in His resurrection, raised and given new life, enabling us to walk and live in newness of life. What a blessing-to be able to live in newness. As Jesus said to doubting Thomas, let us not be unbelieving, BUT believing when it comes to the fact of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. HE IS ALIVE!
Romans 6:8-11 “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Blessings,
Buddy 
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 April 1, 2021                                             THE  EMPTY  TOMB
Matthew 28:5-6 “And the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.’”
1 Peter 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great Mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die. Do you believe this?’
I cannot even imagine what was going on in the minds and hearts of these women when they saw the empty tomb and the angel-what fear-what joy-what wonder-could it be! The resurrection of Jesus is good news! (The greatest understatement of all times.) If Jesus was not resurrected from the dead, we are not forgiven, we have no hope, we live with the fear of death, we are destined for hell, separated from God for all eternity-never experiencing heaven, doomed to live in darkness and in a world that does not know love, left to fend for ourselves, and bound by the power of sin.  Jesus’ resurrection from the dead was the proof that God was real, that He had sent His son Jesus to die for us, and that He was well pleased with the mission that Jesus had accomplished on earth. Jesus’s resurrection meant that He “has given us new birth into a living hope.” 1 Peter 1:3. It means that we can now walk in newness of life. “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:4b. It is possible for one to believe in the resurrection of Jesus, and yet not experience Him and the power of His resurrection personally. Somehow, someway our spirits must be awakened to the awesome, almost unbelievable implications of Jesus being raised from the dead. The very minute He was raised from the dead is the most awesome-the grandest-the greatest moment of all times-it changed everything for mankind. The scriptures tell us that we share in His resurrection-as He died and rose again, so we too might die to ourselves and be raised to new life! His resurrection is a historical fact-but so much more. Do we walk in this newness of life? What does walking in newness look like for us? Certainly it means that we are no longer defeated by our past sins; that we have a living hope for the present and the future; that we have an abiding joy; that we know that Jesus is our life; that we have been resurrected from our old life and made new; that we are light; and that we will forever live even though we die. It means that we will have a little spring in our step, that we overcome all that’s wrong in the world, and that we are light bearers wherever we go. Let us be renewed in our hearts and minds and let us not lose the sheer joy of Jesus walking out of that cold tomb. Place yourself there with the women early that morning and once again marvel at His resurrection.
Mark 16:2-6 “And very early on that first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?’ And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, ‘Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.”
Blessings, Buddy