Chain Breaker

In I Corinthians 14:24-25, Paul writes:

If an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare.  So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

What a bizarre picture!  Doesn’t this look like a scene out of a horror movie?  However, as I reflected on this, I was reminded of another passage of scripture which may be helpful in looking at this setting differently.

Remember when Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison (Acts 16:16-36)?  Luke tells us that in the middle of the night, Paul and Silas were praising God and all the other prisoners were listening to them.  While it is true they had a captive audience, I suspect that the other people were seriously contemplating this bizarre behavior.

While Paul and Silas worshipped God, there was an earthquake that was so strong that it not only shook the prison, but the prison doors flew open and all the chains of the prisoners fell off.  Was this a coincidence or was God making His Presence known?

I am convinced that when we worship and praise God even in our most difficult circumstances, God will not only reveal Himself to us, but other peoples’ world will be rocked and they will be unshackled from their chains.  Just ask the prisoners or the jailer that was with Paul and Silas.  I bet they would say, “God really is among you!”

Roll the Stone Away!

In John 11, Jesus came to Lazarus’ tomb and commanded the people “Roll the stone away!”  If I had been there, I probably wouldn’t have done it.  I would have objected like Martha who said, “He’s been dead for 4 days!  It’s gonna stink!”

I’m also not sure that I would have heard Jesus tell Martha, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

However, there must have been some people there that had some kind of faith because “they” rolled the stone away.  After the stone was removed, Jesus commanded Lazarus to “Come out!”  And he did.

The scriptures do not record this, but I am convinced that everyone there must have been astonished when Lazarus emerged.

I am so much like Martha.  I make “the good confession” that Jesus is LORD, but when I read about something that Jesus said, I tell Him, “That’s impossible!”

I am convinced that the reason why I often do not see the glory of God is that I am unwilling to be obedient to what Jesus says and to “remove the stone”.  If I truly believe that Jesus has been given all authority (Matthew 28:18) and confess that Jesus is LORD (Philippians 2:11), Paul says that out of the tomb of my old life, a new creation will emerge (II Corinthians 5:17).

Pray with me that we will always hear the voice of Jesus, that we will be obedient to Him, and that we will all behold His glory, the One and Only, the One who comes from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

Conversation

One issue that contributes to a strained relationship is the failure to communicate.  It should be of no surprise then, that communication is probably a problem in our relationship with God.

Some of us have a wonderful prayer life.  Prayer is us speaking to God, but it is not a conversation.  Think about it.  Conversation or dialogue is interactive.  In other words, there is a speaker and a listener.  When one person does all the speaking or the other person isn’t listening, it’s a monologue.  When the speaker stops talking and waits for a response from the other person and the other person thoughtfully answers, it becomes a conversation.

God is a good listener.  Over and over, scripture tells us God hears us.  But as we are praying, are we listening for God’s answer?  What are we expecting to hear?  Are we having a conversation?  Paradoxically, Peter tells us that in Jesus, God has “given us everything we need for life and godliness” (II Peter 1:3).

One of the reasons why Scripture was given to us is so that we can hear God’s answers.  If you’re like me, I often don’t like the way God answers.  When I pray for the essentials of life, I hear, "Trust Me” (Matthew 6:33).  When I tell God that I am unhappy with my life’s situation, I hear, “Count it all joy” (James 1:2).  When I ask God to get me out of a situation, I hear, "I am your strength" (Psalms 27:1).

God may not answer you this way, but when I hear the voice of God, I’m satisfied.

Amazing Grace

One of the most beloved hymns amongst Christians is “Amazing Grace” which was written by John Newton.  While this song has a heartfelt meaning to every believer, it is so much more amazing when we hear Newton’s story.

When I heard John’s life story, it made me think of what Paul told the Corinthian church: there is an “immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur among pagans” (I Corinthians 5:1).  Paul’s statement described John’s life—John’s life and treatment of others was despicable and appalling even to his contemporaries.  John lived this way until he met the LORD, and then his life made an about face and was filled with regret of the life he lived.

Newton was a slave trader and it seems to me that his treatment of slaves would later haunt him—rightly so.  While there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:2), we still have to live with the consequences of our actions.

I often wonder if this was also Paul’s thorn in the flesh (II Corinthians 12).  In his younger years, Saul (Paul) was on a mission to destroy the apostasy that was taking place in the Jewish religion (Acts 8:1, 9:1).  After Paul met the LORD, his life made a 180° and he confessed, that he was a “violent man” and “the worst of sinners” (I Timothy 1:13-16).  I would not be at all surprised if Paul’s persecution of the church of Jesus Christ tormented him for the rest of his life.

When we read Paul’s words, “There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,” I wonder if we if we think that we should no longer feel guilty for our past actions.  I don’t think so.  I think this is called denial and if we do not acknowledge our guilt or our guilty feelings, it will probably lead to other issues in our soul.  We should leverage our past actions against our Lord’s words to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (II Corinthians 12:9).

This is the glory of God.  It can be said in so many different ways.  God loves us in spite of who we are, what we’ve done or what we’ve said.  We are what we are by the grace of God.  However we express it, God’s kindness is astonishing—His Grace is amazing!

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus

My son Tom told me that he asked me a financial question when he was growing up and my answer to him was, “Fix your eyes on Jesus!”  I was embarrassed when he told me this.  I don’t know why I answered him this way.  I don’t even remember the incident.  My family has claimed that I have a selective hearing problem—perhaps this was proof.

The more that I reflect on this incident, the more “I’m good with my response.”  I might have said this to Tom because I didn’t know the answer to his question.  But if “Fix your eyes on Jesus” is the only thing my children remember their dad saying, I’m okay with this because Jesus has been my answer.

Life is difficult.  Sometimes it’s unbearable.  Life is complicated, bewildering, and ambiguous.  Often there are no answers with unending questions.  Sometimes the journey through life is long and the road ahead seems endless.

Fixing my eyes Jesus has been my relief.  In Him, I have found stability, strength, wisdom, stamina, and sanity.  In other words, He has been my Savior.

At the end of every day, I try to remember Paul’s words.  In II Timothy 4:6-8, Paul says:

I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have long for His appearing.

It doesn’t matter when He shows up.  It does matter that He finds a trusting and expectant heart.

God Knows

In Exodus 3, God appeared to Moses from a burning bush and said him, “I have indeed seen the misery of My people in Egypt.  I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.  So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land…” (Exodus 3:7-8).  When God said this to Moses, He wasn’t saying, “It has just come to my attention that the Israelites are in trouble and I am making a plan to save them.”

The Israelite’s plight came as no surprise to the LORD.  In fact, He told Abraham about His rescue plan well before Abraham had any children (Genesis 15:13-14).  When we hear this, have we ever asked ourselves, “If God knows everything and He’s going to bring about His purposes, why bother and what’s the point?”  Paul answers this question.  Paul said, “Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us…” (I Corinthians 10: 11a)

In I Corinthians 10, Paul informs us that our spiritual forefathers walked with God and experienced Him (vs. 1-4).  Paul reminds us that God was not pleased with most of them (vs.5) because they set their heart on “evil things” (vs. 6), which he then goes on to define (vs. 7-10).

According to Paul, in our spiritual journey we are going to be tempted or tested in every way (vs. 13).  The bottom line is that God is faithful and the unspoken question is, “are we going to trust Him?” (vs.13)

But Paul’s not finished.  Paul says that when we take “Communion” (vs. 14-17), he reminds us how we began our journey and who we are journeying with.  In the context of “the Exodus,” we are reminded that God saw our need well before we existed and when we look at the world around us we are seeing what God saw and we are discovering what God has known from the beginning.  I think that the rest of the chapter (vs. 14-33) can be summed up by what Paul says in his next letter when he says, “all this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” (II Corinthians 5:18).

God is going to accomplish His purpose in the world, but He’s asking us to join Him—daily. 

To Die is Gain

When I hear Paul saying, “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21), I am reminded of a woman who Robin and I know.  This precious sister told us that when she opens her eyes in the morning, she says disappointingly, “I’m still here.”  This woman is not suicidal.  She’s not suffering and certainly not tired of living. 

When I think of Christ, I often associate Him with suffering, dying, hardship, and labor.  Yet, this is not what is in Paul’s mind when he says this.  In spite of his own suffering, when Paul says, “For me, to live is Christ” he means that he is living a full, bountiful, and productive life.  We know this because Paul goes on to say, “If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me” (Philippians 1:22).

Robin and I hear our friend echoing Paul who said, “I am torn between the two: I desire to be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.  Convinced of this, I know that I will remain…” (Philippians 1:23-25).

Our “natural” longing should be for Jesus.  In the meantime, Paul says, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27).

May Paul’s words be the desires and the prayers of our heart.

Spiritual Warfare

There are many hymns like “Onward Christian Soldiers” that tell us that we are engaged in a spiritual battle, and rightly so.  Paul exhorts the Ephesians to, “put on the full armor of God” because “our struggle is not against flesh and blood…” (Ephesians 6:10-18).  As sound as this admonition is, the best counsel that I have heard concerning spiritual warfare comes from the mouth of one of the apostles’ enemies.

In chapters 4-5 in the book of Acts, after the apostles were thrown into jail and warned not to do what they were doing, they continued to preach in Jesus’ name.  This infuriated the religious leaders and they considered putting the apostles to death.  While they were conspiring to do this, Gamaliel stood up and said, “If their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.  But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:38-39)

These words that Gamaliel spoke are amazing and astonishing.  It shows me that God is not a respecter of persons (Romans 10:34).  He can use our adversaries to bring a prophetic message.

This is a sobering thought to me.  It is warning me to know God and know what He’s about, then identify the enemy.  It’s a terrible and devastating thing to think you’re fighting for Him and then find out that you’re fighting against Him.  Ask Paul.  He’ll tell you.

Cracker Jacks

When we walk down the aisles of a grocery store, we look at the products, and we assume that what’s on the label is what’s in the package.  Yet, when we go into someone’s workshop and see the multitude of containers like cans of coffee and jars of peanut butter, our immediate thought is not, “Wow!  This place is like a grocery store!”  Instead, we assume that there are nails, screws, etc. in these containers.

More often than not, when I meet someone and discover something about them, I immediately label them and see them like a product in the grocery aisle.  I know who they are and what to expect because I know their brand.

In many ways, we are all alike.  We are mortal.  We are fragile.  We are flawed.  I am so glad that when I read about Jesus, He does not treat people as something that are defective, decaying, or tainted.  Instead, in every interaction, I feel like Jesus is opening a box of “Cracker Jacks,” expecting a surprise in every box!

May we all be more like Jesus, who sees something valuable and precious in us.  LORD, help us to see the treasure in this jar of clay.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Must - 2

The other day as I thought about the word, “must” in Scripture and in the context of our lives, another verse came to mind.  In Matthew 24:4-7, Jesus said, “Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, claiming, “I am the Christ, and will deceive many.  You will hear of wars and rumors of wars…Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be famines and earthquakes in various places…”  The “must” that I was pondering was in the middle of these verses of Scripture when Jesus said, “such things must happen…”

I know that we all might have different ideas of the specific time of these happenings that Jesus spoke about, but there are three things that Jesus said that I have meditated on.

First, when Jesus says, “such things must happen,” I hear the omniscience of God.  Remember when God appeared to Abraham and told him that his descendants would be slaves for 400 years (Genesis 15:13).  God told Abraham about this years before he had Isaac.  Throughout scripture we are told of God’s knowledge of things to come. 

Second, I hear the sovereignty of God.  In the same breath, before Jesus said, “such things must happen,” Jesus said, “do not be alarmed…”  In other words, Don’t panic.   Don’t fall apart.  God’s at the helm so be at ease because things are going along as they should.

Third, Jesus reaffirms this by saying, “All these are the beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:8).

Most of us are parents.  Along with the announcement and anticipation of a child come anxiety, worry, and fear.  However, these feelings are overshadowed by the joy and excitement of the advent of a new life.

In a similar way, the Apostle Paul wrote, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed…the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:19, 22-23).  John adds, “We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is” (I John 3:2).  In other words, the climax of the Christians life will be the emergence or advent of Jesus. 

Even though Jesus told His followers the disasters and turmoil “must happen,” He was letting them and us know that the best is yet to come.

Beautiful

This morning I was thinking about the crippled man who sat at the temple gate in Acts 3 begging for money.  As I was remembering the story, I began to sing, “He went walking and leaping and praising God, walking and leaping and praising God; in the name of Jesus Christ…”  I couldn’t remember the rest of the words, so I googled it, and refreshed not only my memory, but my spirit as I sang along.

I recalled hearing messages focusing on the Apostles, their message, the healing, and the transformed life.  But this morning I was reflecting on the people who were responsible for the crippled man’s Divine encounter, namely the people who carried him to the temple gate.

I don’t know if it was only one person or a bunch of people who carried the crippled man to the temple.  I don’t know if this act was done by a family member or friend.  I don’t know if the “friend” was paid from the alms the crippled man received or if the friend’s wages was love.  I don’t know if this action was done out of a sense of duty or was motivated by kindness.  I don’t know if this action was done in bitterness or if the person was moved by compassion.

But there is one thing that I know.  This crippled man was carried every day to this place by a nameless person or persons so he could beg.  If it wasn’t for this “invisible” person or persons, this man might not have even been in a beneficial place, much less, a place to have a Divine encounter.

As I reflect on the cripple man who sat at the temple gate named, “Beautiful,” I am reminded of Paul’s words in Romans 10:14-15:

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can they preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Isn’t this…Beautiful?

Must

Over the years I’ve heard a lot of teaching on sound or healthy doctrine.  This morning, as I thought about this, I wondered, “What are the essentials of my faith?  What do I have to believe and what must I do?”

One of the passages of scripture that came to mind was Acts 2:37, you know, the one before, “Repent and be baptized…”  When I turned to this text, I was surprised to find that the word “must” was not there.  I don’t know whether the word, “must” is found in any other version, but that wasn’t important to me.  The thought that captured my attention was the phrase, “What must I do?”

There were several verses of Scripture that came to mind.  Jesus said God “worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).  I hear Jesus saying that as a believer, I must be a fully authentic, transparent person.  Paul describes this as being a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).

In order to worship or live in this way, the Hebrew writer says, “…anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).  I hear the Hebrew writer telling his audience that God must be a living reality in their day to day life.  Jesus said, “Whoever serves Me must follow Me” (John 12:26).  John adds, “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did” (I John 2:6).

In the past, whenever I’ve tried to live the kind of life that God expects me to live, I’ve encountered frustration, anger, and despair.  I used to try and console myself by saying, “I’m human.  I make mistakes.  I did the best I could.”  But somehow, these thoughts were not comforting.  In the midst of my anguish, I heard Jesus’ words, “You should not be surprised at My saying, “You must be born again” (John 3:7).  “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself: it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me” (John 15:4).

In His words, I heard that unless I recognize that I am at His mercy and am dependent on Him, I may as well be dead.  Since I’ve acknowledged this, I’ve been living a fuller, more abundant, and healthier life.

Discipline

The other day Robin and Lois visited a friend.  One of the things that they told me about was an incident between the mother and her son.  The son was having a conflict with his mother so the mother said, “I think you need a 15 minute time out.”  The son quickly responded with “10 minutes!”  The mother shot back, “20 minutes.”   Hoping to reduce his sentence, he shouted, “15 minutes!”  The mother declared, “25 minutes.”  The boy started to say something, but as he turned to his mother and as their eyes met, the gush of words stopped as his lips pressed together.  When their eyes met, it was as if the boy understood that if he persisted in this conversation, it would end in disaster for him.  Instead, the boy turned and went to his room.

Robin and Lois’ words painted a scene that would have made a wonderful Norman Rockwell portrait and it made me wish that I was there to behold it.  This morning it reminded me of what Solomon said in Proverbs 3:11:

My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke because the LORD disciplines those He loves, as a father the son He delights in.  Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding…

How wonderful would it be for me, if when life happens, when things do not go my way, and when I don’t get what I want, that I would look into His eyes and see His face and accept His sovereignty in my life.  Life would be so much more peaceful.

Vision

All too often disorder comes knocking at my door.  It brings chaos, confusion, and a lot of drama with it.  In other words, all hell wants to break loose in my life.  Does anyone know what I’m talking about?

I know the Apostle Paul did.  He said, “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.  Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death” (II Corinthians 1:8-9). 

I am so glad that the great apostle wrote these words because in these words he’s telling me that he was mortal, just like me.  I am also very grateful that he doesn’t leave us hanging, but went on to say, “But this happened so that we would not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”

Isn’t that a relief?  When you hear these words, do you feel like a burden has been lifted from your souls?  I know I do.  I think this is the same thing that Jesus was telling Peter in Matthew 16:18, when He said, “You’re Peter.  Hell will not overcome My people which I’m building, on the foundation I’ve laid.”  Yeah, I know—that’s not an exact quote, but that’s what I hear Jesus saying and it makes perfect sense to me.

Going forward, what do we foresee for ourselves personally or collectively as a church that we belong to?  What do we think about our future?  Does it look bleak?  Do we have great ideas and wonderful dreams?  How confident are we in what we see?

I know one thing.  I want to have Moses’ vision.  After God promised the Israelites success (Exodus 33:1-2), Moses told God, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here” (Exodus 33:15).  What I hear Moses telling God is that He’s more valuable to him than anything God gives.  Isn’t this a picture of what it means to love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind?

I think that Paul understood this as he prayed:

For this reason I kneel before the Father…I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19)

LORD, help me have this vision of You and help me to have Paul’s heart and join him in his prayer for all Your people.

Renewal

I don’t care what the celebrities or the “real people, not actors” claim, there really is no fountain of youth.  It doesn’t matter how many years we say that we’re celebrating our 29^th birthday, the reality is that we’re rotting away.  The Apostle Paul says it plainly, “Outwardly we are wasting away…”  It’s just a fact of life.  But as terminal as this may sound, Paul doesn’t put a period here.  In the same breath Paul says, “…yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (II Corinthians 4:16).  What does Paul mean when he says this?  What does it even look like? 

I’ve been blessed because I have a couple of examples in my life.  My friend Jim is ninety three years and counting.  Every time I speak with Jim, he tells me that God’s been good to him with a sparkle in his eyes.  I see the same sparkle and hear the same declaration from another friend whose name is also Jim.  While there’s a big difference in their ages and their life experiences are on the opposite ends of the spectrum, they both have tapped into the same wellspring of life.

To me, it’s obvious that they know the One who said, “Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am He, I am He who will sustain you.  I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain and I will rescue you” (Isaiah 46:4).  I hear the same adoration that Paul had with the Guy as he proclaimed, “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

What I see and hear makes me long for what these men have.

Light and Momentary

Have you noticed that every year is more challenging than the last?  We struggle through illnesses, deaths, and yes, the ominous “aging odyssey”.  As we celebrate “one more birthday”, many of us are probably wondering what the future has in store for us.  The bottom line question is, “What does God have in mind for us?”

One thing that I’ve noticed as I read Scripture is that when the people of God faced adversity, it’s as if they were viewing their situation through binoculars—everything looked large and close up.  Yet when they looked at God, they turned the binoculars around and saw Him so small and so far away.  Scripture continually reminds us that we need to see God through the same lens we see our situation.

The first thing that I am reminded of is that our situation, individually or collectively is temporary, not permanent.  It is a chapter in our continuing story and not the epilogue, and it is short, not heavy.

I know.  I know.  I am not in your shoes going through the challenges that you’re facing.  I also hope that I don’t sound unkind or insensitive, but I am not the one who tells us this.  It is the Apostle Paul who says, “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory…” (II Corinthians 4:17a).

One day as I read these words, I remembered thinking, “‘Light and momentary’...That’s easy for you to say, Paul.”  But as soon as that thought came to mind, I was reminded of Paul recounting his difficulties in II Corinthians 11:23-29.  As difficult as our trials are, I think that it is much more important to get a glimpse of what Paul is beholding, “eternal glory…”

I’m guessing that most of us do not meditate on this because, like the Old Timers from Maine, we have the sense, “You can’t get thayah from heyah.”  Rightly so.  Thomas was just as bewildered when he asked Jesus, “How can we know the way?” (John 14:5)

Jesus could have said, “What did I just say?  Thomas, are you paying attention?  Are you listening?”  Instead, Jesus answers, “I am the way…and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6).

It will not only take Divine power to take us to our eternal destination, but it will also take a miracle to give us an eternal point of view.  The Good News is that this is the message from Heaven.  Listen to what else Jesus has to say to His disciples in John’s Gospel:

 …I too will love them and show Myself to them” (14:21).  But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you (14:26).  Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives (14:27).  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine…apart from Me you can do nothing (15:4-5).  I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (15:11).   All this I have told you so that you will not fall away (16:1).  But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth…and He will tell you what is yet to come.  He will glorify Me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you (16:13-14). I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (16:33).

And Jesus continues to be our bridge, intercessor, and vehicle into the heavenly realm as He prays:

Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent (John 17:3). Righteous Father…I have made you known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love you have for Me may be in them and that I Myself may be in them (John 17:25).

The Walking Dead

How high must I turn up the volume to make a deaf man hear?   How much light must I add into a room to make a blind man see?  How much oxygen can I pump into a corpse to make it come to life?

Are these stupid questions?  Yet, this is how the Bible describes us before we came to know God.  Before they knew the LORD, Paul told the Ephesians, “…you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1)

A corpse is powerless.  A corpse is hopeless to do anything because it is dead—it has no life. This is the helpless picture that Paul wants us to see as he goes on to say:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works…”

–Ephesians 2:8-10

I don’t know if this is where the idea of zombies came from.  But this I know—apart from Jesus I have no life and the works that I do is dead.