Joseph of Arimathea pulled a corpse off a cross with his bare hands.
Blood under his fingernails. The weight of a dead man sagging into his arms.
He wrapped God in linen, pressed the fabric into wounds that were still wet.
Nicodemus brought seventy-five pounds of burial spice. A king's funeral for a man the world just murdered.
They carried Him into a hole in the rock and rolled the stone shut.
And everything you've ever done went in with Him.
Every night you can't sleep because of what you did. Every morning, you can't look in the mirror. The thing you did to her. The thing you did to them. The
lie you've been carrying so long it feels like bone.
The version of you that drinks alone and pretends tomorrow will be different.
That man was buried with Christ.
Stone sealed. Done.
Not managed. Not in therapy. Not on a payment plan with God where you slowly earn your way back. Buried. In a tomb. Under rock. Gone.
Three days of silence. Three days of a cold body in the dark.
Then the stone moved.
And when He walked out, the grave clothes were folded on the slab. He didn't stumble out tangled in death. He left it sitting there like a man who's done
with the clothes he used to wear.
Lazarus needed someone to unwrap him. Death still clung to him even after he was breathing.
Jesus folded His own burial linen and walked out clean.
That's the difference between religion and resurrection. Religion unwraps you slowly. Asks you to manage your sin. Attend the class. Read the book. Try harder next week.
Resurrection says the man who walked into that tomb is dead. The man who walked out doesn't know him.
You're not fixing the old you. The old you is in a sealed tomb in Jerusalem, and he's not coming back.
The man reading this, the one who thinks he's too far gone, you're not too far. You're already buried. The funeral happened two thousand years
ago.
Now get up. The stone's already moved. The linen's already folded.
Walk out.
The child learns to speak because the parent speaks to the child. The child learns the language of the parent. So we learn to speak to God because God has spoken and speaks to us. In the language of the Father in heaven God’s children learn to speak with God. Repeating God’s own words, we begin to pray to God.
Bonhoeffer
@Pastor_Gabe I would combine his with Nancy Guthrie’s short statement:
The Bible is the Spirit-inspired record of God’s unfolding plan to establish His kingdom in a new creation, ruled by His Son and His Bride, who will share His glory and enjoy His Presence in an eternal, sabbath, rest.
@espn I get it. Every player signs a contract.
But to take from his salary and give it to this organization is Mean Girls burn-book behavior.
Childish, petty behavior.
The most important idol to smash, the one we have to continually smash because it tends to grow back, is self-righteousness. What is it? It’s feeling God is obligated to you. You do not understand the doctrine of grace as long as you think God is obligated to you. – @timkellernyc
Focus -> completing a task with excellence
Fireplace -> tamed and useful heat
Monogamy -> advanced civilization
All of these are the same principles at work.
There's a cliche:
"It's okay to not be okay."
That's true, but it's only a starting point. Because, the Gospel goes past this.
It's okay to not be okay, but it's not okay to stay that way when there is another way. Jesus is the Way.
There is joy and victory.
His name is Jesus.
@JonnyRoot_ DNC = ancient Israel. RNC = Judah. Israel went into apostasy (and captivity) before Judah. Judah had some righteous leaders but eventually followed Israel's path. We held out as long as we could, I guess.
This is the first thing I see when I unlock my phone the first time each day.
My Identity Card: who God says I am.
It’s a way to architect what I consume—because I know myself well enough to know I need help continually reorienting my heart toward the ultimate.
During a recent college visit, Frank was challenged by a student with a trick question in regard to the creation of the universe. Does he fall into the trap? Watch the video to find out!