Author: admin

What a glorious moment it was when the disciples saw their risen Lord for the first time! How thrilling to see Him! How amazing to commune with Christ right after having been raised from the dead. What questions they must have had of their Teacher! How fascinating to have been in the upper room with Him that evening!

Does it not seem unusual that Jesus began His first visit with His disciples by showing them His hands and side? Why did He do that? Was it so they would recognize Him? Of course, except for John, none of the disciples had witnessed Jesus’ wounds. That would not have been something they could have identified.

Could it be that Jesus showed them the wounds of His crucifixion so His disciples could see that they did not need to fear the world and what it could do to them? They were hiding behind locked doors for fear of their enemies. Yet their enemies had done their worst to Jesus and yet there He stood triumphantly before them. The world had used its cruelest execution. It had subjected Jesus to death, humanity’s most invincible foe. The bulwarks of hell had imprisoned Him. Yet there He stood. Victorious.

Could it be that we need to take a fresh glimpse of the resurrected Jesus as well? Do we need to be reminded that there is nothing on earth that the risen Christ cannot overcome and decisively conquer? What is it you fear that may be holding you back from courageously living for Christ?

The world can be an intimidating place! The enemies of God abound and they hate God’s people. While it is considered politically incorrect to criticize other faiths, people often feel complete freedom to scoff at the claims and practices of Christians. If we are not careful, we can be cowed into silence and fear the forces of darkness.

It is not surprising that whenever heavenly visitors spoke to people, their first words were generally “Peace” or “Be not afraid!” This was first because the messengers themselves often invoked terror to those who heard them. Second, it was because God’s people often were wracked with fear and anxiety.

Don’t be surprised if God urges you to fear not. While He may not remove your critics or opponents, He will bring you peace. He can calm your heart in the midst of the fiercest storm. He can provide spiritual tranquility even as your enemies shout their vilest threats. Anxiety and fear arises from a lack of faith. We do not truly believe God will do in our lives what He promised in Scripture. We worry we might be the first person God fails to protect or guide.

Our focus needs to be on the risen Christ who says “peace” rather than on the sound of our enemy’s footsteps outside the door. If we will focus on Him and do what He says, we will be amazed at how the problems around us fade away in their power to alarm us.

There is no testimony more compelling than when people relate their encounter with God.There’s something fresh and dynamic about a people recounting to others what God said to them.

In Jesus’ day, a woman’s testimony was considered highly questionable. Courts of law would not accept them as valid evidence. Such were the viewpoints prevalent among society at that time. As in so many ways, God completely turned the social views of that day upside down! Who was the first eyewitness of the greatest miracle in history? A woman. Who informed the disciples that their Lord had risen from the dead? A woman. The Lord of the universe entrusted the most important news in history to someone who would not have made an acceptable witness in a contemporary law court.

God can likewise use our testimony to dramatically impact peoples’ lives. We don’t have to have a theology degree to be able to testify to what we have experienced of Christ. We don’t have to be able to translate Scripture from its original Greek or Hebrew to be able to relate to others the life transforming encounters we have experienced with Christ. We simply must faithfully relate what we heard and seen of Christ. The Holy Spirit will take our witness and confirm it in the hearts of others. Of course we cannot share what we have not experienced. Some Bible scholars must drone on about archeological data and obscure hermeneutical debates because they have no personal encounter with Christ to relate to others. Don’t ever diminish your own spiritual pilgrimage and first-hand encounters with Christ. It is the most compelling news you will ever share with anyone.

One of the most profound contradictions in the Christian life is weeping in Christ’s presence. In God’s presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). In His presence is peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6). In His presence, our yoke is easy and our burden is light (Mathew 11:28-30). Yet countless Christians weep and are disheartened in the presence of the resurrected Christ.

Mary was weeping next to an empty tomb! If it had still been sealed shut, she would have had ample reason to grieve! Had Jesus’ beaten and tortured body continued to lie in state, tightly wrapped in burial linens, she could have been excused for her tears. But such was not the case!

Every prophecy Scripture had foretold of the Messiah’s victory had come to pass. Every promise Jesus had made to His disciples concerning His death and resurrection had been fulfilled. The stone was rolled away. The tomb was empty. The burial clothes were discarded. The sentries guarding the tomb had fled. Jesus’ enemies were distraught. There was absolutely no reason to weep!

At times the risen Christ must ask the same question to us: “Why are you weeping?” In light of the fact that the resurrected Christ has called you to your assignment, He sustains you, protects you, guides you, and provides for you, why are you discouraged? Can people thwart God’s purposes for your life? Can your circumstances exhaust God’s provision? Can your critics cancel God’s will? Is there anything you face that is too complicated or difficult for the risen Christ to achieve victory? In light of all that Christ is and is doing, why are you discouraged?

Disappointment is a certainty when you lead others. People will inevitably let you down. The best laid plans will not work as you intended. Critics may abound. The joy and zeal you felt as you commenced your work can evaporate as you experience failure and frustration.

Jesus knew about disappointment. He suffered painful betrayal. His most loyal lieutenants abandoned Him. Yet Jesus never lost His joy. That is because his joy did not originate from people but from His fellowship with His Father. No one could remove God’s presence from Him.

Likewise, Jesus assured His disciples that upon His resurrection, no one could take their joy away. No one. We will of course have those who will try. They will criticize us, betray us, abandon us, question us, and seek to thwart us. They may even be successful. But our joy does not stem from the accomplishment of our plans or from the accolades of others. It ought to come from fellowship with our Lord (John 15:11). That is something not even our most sinister enemy can steal from us.

If no one can take our joy from us, why are there so many joyless Christians? The answer is: they surrender their joy. They decide they cannot (or will not) hold on to their joy if they are treated acertain way. They willingly yield their joy to their circumstances and surrender that ground to their enemies. But it does not have to be that way. Jesus promised that no one and no circumstance is powerful enough to remove the joy that emanates from His presence in our lives. Have you surrendered your joy? If you have, return wholeheartedly to God’s presence and let Him restore it to you.

How fickle people can be! At one moment they are crying “Hosanna!” and the next they are angrily shouting “Crucify Him!” Aristotle distrusted democracy because it was so fickle and constantly subject to vacillating public opinion. There are times when emotion takes hold of the masses and reason must beat a hasty retreat!

If you have placed your trust in people, beware. They will inevitably disappoint you. They most certainly will do the wrong thing, eventually. If you are serving in leadership because you like people, be warned. A time may come where you don’t like them so much! People are like that. The only thing predictable about them is that they are unpredictable.

Jesus was victimized by swaying, public opinion. The very ones who proclaimed him king would demand his cruel death only a week later. Yet Jesus’ focus was never on people. It was on His Father. He knew God could accomplish His purposes despite the transitory loyalty of those around Him. What might seem to destroy God’s purposes merely became the next step in God accomplishing His will. Ultimately the rabble did not prevent God’s work from being accomplished. Several weeks later, crowds of people would cry out, “What must we do to be saved?” when Peter boldly preached to them.

Have you grown disillusioned with leading? Get your eyes off of people and on to God. If you have been seduced by the voices of those who praise you, beware. Today’s accolades  can become tomorrow’s condemnation.

Pride never lacks for victims. There are always those who are susceptible to its charms. Just as pride tempted Satan to exalt himself above his Creator, so pride causes us to maintain an inordinately high view of ourselves in relation to God and others.

Perspective is everything. If we view ourselves, and others properly, we can live our lives wisely and successfully. But when we do not see things the way they really are, we are extremely vulnerable. Why do brilliant businesspeople commit flagrant violations of the law that ruins their careers and their companies? Pride. Why do leaders refuse to accept wise counsel that could save them from failure and grief? Pride. Why do so many leaders become braggarts who hoard the credit and praise for their organization’s success? Pride. Why do Christian leaders conduct their lives as if God’s laws do not apply to them? Pride.

Pride has brought ruin to many brilliant, successful leaders. It was not that they lacked sufficient IQ or management ability. It was that pride blinded them to reality. Pride separated them from God and, unable to hear from their Creator, they were susceptible to temptations that came along.

Humility enables you to view your life properly. You can gain humility in at least two ways. One way is for you to humble yourself so you are in a position to hear from God and to obey what He says. Another is for God to humble you. Because God despises the proud heart, He will ensure that you become humbled. The only question is which path to humility you choose to take.

Living in a land with readily accessibly tap water, we cannot fathom how critical wells are for people living in the desert. Water means life. Powerful armies can be quickly brought to ruin if their water supply runs short. Entire communities will be abandoned if the water source evaporates. Likewise, nothing was more pleasing to the eye of a weary, desert traveler than the sight of an oasis built around a water source. There might be parched desert all around but the ground by the well would be lush and green.

We live in a dry, thirsty land that parches our souls. The carnal temptations, worldly values, evil people, tragic occurrences, and pain and suffering that surrounds us can sap our soul of its spiritual vitality. The world is filled with “takers” who draw from us whatever they can.

In such a spiritually dehydrating world, it is refreshing to spend time near a righteous person whose mouth is a well of life. These are people who restore your soul through their words. They speak life into you and encourage you. Their words are seasoned with grace that helps you become more like Christ. Forgiveness freely flows from their lips. Their conversations are often interrupted with peels of laughter and joy. What an oasis to meet someone like this in a sea of negative, critical, carnal voices!

The wicked, on the other hand, speak evil of others. They constantly tear people down. They speak words of death rather than life. To be in a conversation with such people drains the life out of you and robs you of your joy.

So what kind of person are you? Do people view conversations with you as an oasis in a parched land? Or, do they come away from conversations with you feeling worse and more negative than they did before? Jesus said what came out of our mouth revealed what was in our heart. Presently, is life or death, proceeding from your lips?

Mark Twain once quipped that the benefit of always being honest was that you did not have to remember what you had said previously! Conversely, liars are constantly in danger of tripping over their words. A life that is inconsistent invariably comes unraveled.

Having integrity means that something is consistent throughout. What you see on the outside is what is on the inside. Something with integrity is not contaminated with impurities. When you relate to someone with integrity, you know what to expect, every time.

Having integrity does not insulate you from difficulties, but it does protect you from problems that result from a lack of integrity! Employers are looking for people they can trust. They fire those they cannot. People befriend those who are honest and reliable. People remain aloof from those who are not. Enemies quickly pounce on our inconsistencies. Those who live consistent lives have nothing to fear. Living with integrity means you can sleep peacefully at night!

Others, however, have perverted their way. Perhaps in an effort to get ahead they lied on their resume or on their expense report. They may have misrepresented themselves to a client. Now they must live in constant fear of being found out. They must remember the lies they told. They must cover their tracks. They must live with the tumultuous relationships that result from living inconsistently with others.

Are you living your life with integrity? If you are, no surprise visit, sudden audit, annual job review, phone call, or pop quiz will unsettle you. If you are not living with integrity, this may be the day your evil deeds are uncovered.

Despite the advances of technology and the sophistication of computers, there is still no substitute for hard work. When we work hard and with integrity, we honor our Creator. We were created to work. We are meant to make a contribution and to better ourselves. Yet sin causes us to live at a level beneath what God intends. Sin entices us to find another way to get what we want without investing our labor into it.

While there is nothing wrong with an entrepreneurial spirit that seeks creative, new ways to accomplish our tasks, it is disgraceful to wile away our days vainly searching for ways to avoid breaking a sweat. Some avoid labor by depending on others to provide for them. Others do as little as they can get away with without being fired. Some people are dreamers who are continually searching for someone who will enable their dreams to become a reality. Others settle for mediocre effort, unconcerned with how their shoddy performance costs others. Some will not give their best effort unless constantly goaded by their supervisors. Such an attitude and character is a disgrace to us and dishonors our Creator.

Others, however, are diligent in all they do. They do nothing in half measures. They regularly go the extra mile. They strive for excellence in everything they put their hand to. They give their best and take pride in a job well done. They constantly are learning and studying and practicing so they can enhance their job performance. These people rarely lack for work to do! Managers are always looking to employ such people. There is no secret to success in life. A key ingredient is hard work. Just because you tire easily does not mean you work hard! Would your employer, supervisor, children, spouse, parents consider you to be a hard worker?