Raising
the dead… So I know what you are thinking… You read this and you
think “miracle”… Yes? No? Maybe? Well when I think of the dead
being raised that’s what I think of. But what if I flip the script?
Last week while we were doing door to door with a local team, in my
lack of understanding of Spanish I began to flip through Romans and
read Scripture while I prayed and interceded for those sharing. This
is what I came across.
1) What shall we say then? Are we
to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2) May it never
be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3) Or do you
not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have
been baptized into His death? 4) Therefore we have been buried with
Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the
dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness
of life. Romans
6:1-4
to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2) May it never
be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3) Or do you
not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have
been baptized into His death? 4) Therefore we have been buried with
Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the
dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness
of life. Romans
6:1-4
What’s
up, I’m Joel’s flesh… I used to be dead… but every now and then
I talk him into breaking out the defibrillator and shocking me back
to life for a little fun. I think he tends to forget all the good
times we use to have. So I do my best to remind him. It is not too
hard, our good times are pretty well documented, so I know it is hard
for him to forget.
up, I’m Joel’s flesh… I used to be dead… but every now and then
I talk him into breaking out the defibrillator and shocking me back
to life for a little fun. I think he tends to forget all the good
times we use to have. So I do my best to remind him. It is not too
hard, our good times are pretty well documented, so I know it is hard
for him to forget.
Coming
on the Race, I wondered if I would ever see the dead raised. Last
month in Nicaragua, we tried… Seriously… But after reading this
Scripture I realized that ever since my walk with Christ began I have
been raising the dead on a daily basis. My flesh is supposed to be
dead, yet it still fights for air. I always manage to give it just
enough to make it one more day. I go through seasons of a death and
burial… only to follow it up as a grave robber seeking “riches” from
the past.
on the Race, I wondered if I would ever see the dead raised. Last
month in Nicaragua, we tried… Seriously… But after reading this
Scripture I realized that ever since my walk with Christ began I have
been raising the dead on a daily basis. My flesh is supposed to be
dead, yet it still fights for air. I always manage to give it just
enough to make it one more day. I go through seasons of a death and
burial… only to follow it up as a grave robber seeking “riches” from
the past.
It
usually doesn’t last for too long, I mean the guy can’t stand the
sight of me…. Haha, let’s face it though, I have brought a lot of
shame to the guy’s life, but it is what he wanted… it is who he
is… I mean, am I right? I’m not the one who opened Pandora’s Box,
I’m just the one who gave him the nudge off the edge he needed to
do so.
usually doesn’t last for too long, I mean the guy can’t stand the
sight of me…. Haha, let’s face it though, I have brought a lot of
shame to the guy’s life, but it is what he wanted… it is who he
is… I mean, am I right? I’m not the one who opened Pandora’s Box,
I’m just the one who gave him the nudge off the edge he needed to
do so.
My
problem is my posture. I have one eye fixed on God and the other on
the world. One eye on victory and the other on a battle ground. I am
looking just enough at Christ to feel like I have it all together
only to look away and pull a spiritual Jenga to watch it all come
tumbling down. The truth is I am thrusting myself into a battle that I don’t have to fight.
problem is my posture. I have one eye fixed on God and the other on
the world. One eye on victory and the other on a battle ground. I am
looking just enough at Christ to feel like I have it all together
only to look away and pull a spiritual Jenga to watch it all come
tumbling down. The truth is I am thrusting myself into a battle that I don’t have to fight.
As
long as I keep the Sirens singing in his ear, he will be blinded from
what he really needs to hear. I will keep him from the source that
can give him what thinks he needs… what that spirit of his makes him
desire. I’m sure he will muster up the strength to pray and once
again send me packing. But I will be back… he doesn’t know how to
live without me.
long as I keep the Sirens singing in his ear, he will be blinded from
what he really needs to hear. I will keep him from the source that
can give him what thinks he needs… what that spirit of his makes him
desire. I’m sure he will muster up the strength to pray and once
again send me packing. But I will be back… he doesn’t know how to
live without me.
12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12
15When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. Colossians 2:15
When I have my eyes fixed on Christ and I am in His might, there is a battle ground behind me with an unarmed enemy. But when I turn away, when I walk out of the place where my armor lies and look in the face of the one who wants to devour me he can see my scars, he can see my wounds of the past. In his glare they begin to fester… and the one who was disarmed has just what he needs to open fire.
“I’ve been hit! Oh My God! Oh My God! The ground burst and cold soaks my shirt. Send word!” – Oh, Sleeper
Oh God, I ask that my focus be on you. The further and further I go on this journey the more I realize how far from you i’ve been. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel torn in half. Take what is left of Joel. Nail the rest of me to the cross. Close the door to my dead flesh. Put the nails in the coffin.This is the cry of my heart… Pray this prayer over me and thank you for reading.
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