Flashback Friday: The "Art & Rocket Science" of THE Resurrection of Christ - Journal Entry – 4/6/2007

Read I Corinthians 15:12-20

"But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen either. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished (are lost). If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hope only in this life and that is all, then we are of all men the most pitiable.

But the fact is that Christ (the Messiah) is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep [in death]."

Below is a journal entry I wrote back in April 2007 - a few weeks prior to Resurrection (Easter) Sunday. As the title suggests, I'd finally grasped the BASIC comprehension of what this weekend's celebration truly means.

I think got it! I think I kinda get the whole "art & science" behind what Resurrection Sunday (Easter) means and what it represents. Okay, so Scripture explains that since Jesus rose from the dead; thereby “defeating death and the grave”, as it were....so would all who'd place their trust and confidence in His sacrifice for the removal of sin. How? Well, the very reason why Jesus was able to conquer the grave and defeat death in the first place was that He was without sin (2 Cor. 5:21)....which is what ultimately brings about death! You followin' me, so far? ;-)  So, since Jesus committed no sin and was innocent of any transgression, the grave itself was literally obligated to give Him up because according to the divine law that God Himself had established since before time was time:

“…the wages of sin is (was) death…”  ~ (Romans 6:23) 

and 

“The sting of death is sin…” ~ (1 Cor. 15:56) 

SIN = DEATH. But JESUS HAD NO SIN!! See, where I'm goin'!? :-) He was SIN FREE! Sinless! So, technically, HE WAS INNOCENT...undeserving of the penalty of death! So, the grave, "legally", couldn't hold Him! That's so dope, to me. Even the grave had to obey!! Even death has to be subject to the law! And because of who Christ is, His pure royal blood was the ONLY acceptable sacrifice. Why? Well, the Torah (the laws & teachings given to Moses by God) made it clear that there would be no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood (Lev. 17:11). But Jesus had no sin for which to be punished and therefore was not obliged, as you and I are, to die. Again....death is the wage; the result; the effect of sin. However, since Jesus was the blameless, perfect; the unblemished Lamb of God - a holy offering who was capable and willing to pay the penalty for the sins of the world - His death would be eternally unique.

Fam, Christ’s death on the cross was a fulfillment of what the prophet Isaiah declared: that the sovereign God would be willing to lay the iniquity and sin of us all - of ALL humanity - on the shoulders of Messiah’s bleeding sacrificial body. (Isaiah 53:6) And that perfect, self-sacrificial love in action cannot be found in any other religion, philosophy or school of thought because none other than The Most High God Himself was able to demonstrate this: in His very Word made flesh, Y'shua HaMoshiach - Jesus The Messiah. So, because of what Christ did on behalf of the world via His death AND resurrection, those that trust in that sacrifice for the removal of sin and accept it as their own are now seen as righteous. Now, when The Most High sees us, He sees the righteousness and perfection of His Living Word; His only begotten Son, Jesus. Does that make sense? To be clear, it's NOT that we who've trusted in and believe on Christ's death & resurrection don't sin or aren't capable of sinning. Clearly we are! But rather our sin nature isn’t held against us because it's been covered; washed; expunged from the record. We are "legally" and POSITIONALLY perfect while still remaining blatantly and HUMANLY flawed. Our sin debt is paid in full by the precious blood of Christ Jesus. And it is out of gratitude and appreciative love that we honor our Savior's undeservedly free gift by actively and deliberately pursuing to be more and more like Him. Get me?;-)

Now, THAT'S the Good News, fam! THAT'S, literally, The Gospel and what this season is all about: that The Master of the universe would come wrapped in human flesh via His Word, Jesus Christ, to redeem a sin afflicted & inflicted world that was incapable of redeeming itself. He came as a man and lived as we do yet was without any sin. He willingly substituted Himself on the cross; suffered and died in our place for our sins AND sin nature. He died so that all who trust Him would have life. It was at that cross of Christ that God's holy justice AND relentless mercy kissed and converged. They were BOTH satisfied and our sin was paid for - signed, sealed & delivered - through the blood of Jesus. That, my fam, is the message and subsequent CELEBRATION of The Resurrection Sunday Holiday! The GREAT NEWS of the redemption through Christ by His defeating of death on the cross....proven by His resurrection. We win because HE ROSE!!!! HE LIVES! Christ is RISEN!!! And because He lives...we also shall live.

"....Because I live, you will live also." ~ Jesus

John 14:19

"Diary of a Mad Christian: A Cross Reference" is available on BarnesandNoble.com & Amazon.com and ALL E-Reader devices (iPad, Kindle & Nook)

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"For if we are beside ourselves [mad, as some say], it is for God and concerns Him; if we are in our right mind, it is for your benefit." ~ 2 Corinthians 5:13 (Amplified Bible)

Lil' Baby Cam Faith... Part II: TRUST

Read Jeremiah 9:23,24

"Thus says the Lord, 'Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast in this: that he understands and knows Me [personally and practically, directly discerning and recognizing My character], that I am the Lord, Who practices loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord.'" ~ Jeremiah 9:23,24 AMP

I experienced a dope illustration of trust the other day - through none other than the example of my abnormally-cute nephew, (and middle-namesake) Cameron Warner Wilkes. ;-) See...Cam and I don't really get a lot of chill time, together. The reasons vary: it’s either me being out of town OR the conflicting schedules of his parents and I OR simply just our geographical distance. Through no fault of his folks, me and “the neph’s” QT (quality time) is limited to the occasional church visit, birthday or something like that. Nevertheless, the times when we do get to kick it are nice.

So, the other day, he and I finally got another opportunity to hang for a lil bit….albeit before, during and after the funeral of an elder in our family. Now, Cam is all of 2 years old, right. He knows some folk. His circle of recognition exists but is understandably limited given his age. There are some select few that he kinda knows a little better; recognizes a little quicker than others. His momma, his daddy, grandpa, teacher, etc. I, myself, lay somewhere in the middle. He knows me, ya understand...but he ain’t quite sure if he can trust me all the way, yet. At least, that WAS the case. I imagine he’d be, like, “hairy man….you look kinda familiar...but I’ma be cool and lay in the cut until I can know for sure who you are.” See, I can respect that. I credit the little brother for his prudence. ;-) And to make it unnecessarily more difficult on the lil man, it hadn't helped that my appearance tends to change periodically based on any given project I was doing or if I’d simply neglected to shave and get that desperately needed shape-up. So, I get it. I understand. But thankfully, again, these days he's getting much better at recognizing his old, hairy uncle, a bit sooner. :-)

So, after the funeral, we’re all headed out to eat. As I mentioned, I’ve gladly been on “Cam-duty” pretty much this whole day. It’s been me and the kid, for the most part, connected at the hip (or on my arm, as it were). All the grown-ups are off doing their grown-up things. When we get to the restaurant, I get Cam from his car seat and carry him as I’d been doing for a majority of the day. And to my delight, Cam does something that I’ve never experienced him doing...at least, not with me. As he’s on my arm; his head near my shoulder, he proceeds to turn his head toward my back as he then lays his head on my shoulder. (Cue the “Awwwwww”) It was such a small, almost unnoticeable gesture. But to me, it meant the world. To me, it meant that Cam had become comfortable AND trusting enough of me because of the cumulative time spent with me and around me to not be as on guard and as watchful as he would’ve otherwise been. He knew me, now. So much so, that he didn’t even have to concern himself as to what was in front of him. He could just turn his little head and rest it on my shoulder. Wow, man! That’s so dope. What a perfect little picture of trust that demonstrated. I loved it!

See….that right there is exactly the sort of trust any loving father, mother, auntie or uncle would want from a child placed in their care. And that’s exactly a picture of the trust our Heavenly Father wants from His children: a trust that says that I don’t have to know what's in my future and all that’s in front of me BECAUSE I KNOW and thereby TRUST the One who holds my future. God's got it and is quite capable of taking care of it. He’s bigger and much stronger and infinitely smarter than I am. I know this because I know Him. And because I know Him and His character, I’m more inclined to trust Him. That makes sense?

Look...in the same way as with my baby nephew, it's true for any other relationship: the degree of which you know someone - whether it be God, your spouse, your hairy uncle, ANYONE - is directly related to how much you are willing to place your trust in them. If the time spent in pursuing a relationship is superficial and shallow then so will the depth and intimacy of that relationship be. Again, this is true for ANY relationship. Cause and effect. You wish to know someone, you spend time with them. You wish to know them, deeper, you deepen the QT time. Boom. If the breadth and width of your time spent with God is limited to Sunday morning church outings; radio, podcast and TV sermons OR in reading the occasional supplementary book & commentary "about" God, then your relationship - and accordingly - your trust of/in God will reflect that superficiality. Not that those things aren’t legitimate. They are! But they are complementary pieces of a larger picture.

So, the question then becomes, “How do we really know God? How can we get to know Him? Is that even possible?” Now, to be clear...I’m not referring to a mere knowledge of God. Shoot, man….Satan knows a lot about God AND the Bible...way more than you or I, in fact. However, there is no intimacy. Lots of folk think that they know God, when in reality, they know a lot about Him. They have yet to forge an intimate bond with their loving Creator. But thanks be to The Most High for removing much of the guess work from knowing who He is while at the same time providing a way to foster the intimacy with Him that He desires to have with us!! God has graciously provided all of humanity with the absolute bestest (yup, BESTEST!) gift and model of who He is: HIMSELF! In His loving sovereignty, God has given to us His own Divine Word clothed in human flesh (John 1:14); His only begotten Son (John 3:16); our Emmanuel “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14) - Jesus The Messiah!

“He (Jesus) is the radiance of His (God’s) glory and the exact representation of His nature.” ~ Hebrews 1:3

“For in Christ dwells all the fullness of God in bodily form.” ~ Colossians 2:9

See...our relationship with God is greatly influenced by what we know and the intimacy we have with His living Word: Jesus, our Savior and Christ. God and His Word are One (John 1:1). The more we know about Him as revealed on the pages of Holy Scripture, i.e. His character, His ways, His heart, etc.....the more we are better able, willing and equipped to love and trust Him. Likewise, the more I know about Him, the more I adore Him. The more I build intimacy with Him, the more grateful I am for Him and who He is and what He's provided me and all of humanity via His sacrifice on the Cross. The deeper I go into the Scripture that explains His life, His person and His ministry - the more He is elevated in my mind and, accordingly, the more I worship Him. My time with Him becomes less religious and more relational - which is EXACTLY what He's always intended of us: a RELATIONSHIP to a Holy God. Again, God and His Word are One. He desires that as much as it is possible, we get to know and understand Him. (Eph. 5:17) To get more of Him - get more of His Word. To build a relationship with Him - build a relationship with His Word. And as a result of that relationship - of knowing who Christ is, intimately - a trust naturally develops. God’s shoulder becomes softer and more desirable to lean on and yield to. And you, in turn, become more willing to rest your “head” on it.

"Diary of a Mad Christian: A Cross Reference" is available on BarnesandNoble.com & Amazon.com and ALL E-Reader devices (iPad, Kindle & Nook)

Follow Us! www.twitter.com/MadChrstnDiary

Like Us! www.facebook.com/DiaryofaMadChristian

"For if we are beside ourselves [mad, as some say], it is for God and concerns Him; if we are in our right mind, it is for your benefit." ~ 2 Corinthians 5:13 (Amplified Bible)

Lil' Baby Cam Faith... Part II: TRUST

Read Jeremiah 9:23,24

"Thus says the Lord, 'Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast in this: that he understands and knows Me [personally and practically, directly discerning and recognizing My character], that I am the Lord, Who practices loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord.'" ~ Jeremiah 9:23,24 AMP

I experienced a dope illustration of trust the other day - through none other than my abnormally-cute nephew, (and middle-namesake) Cameron Warner Wilkes. ;-) See...Cam and I don't really get a lot of chill time, together. The reasons vary - it’s either me being out of town OR the conflicting schedules of his parents and I OR simply just the geographical distance. Through no fault of his folks, me and “the neph’s” QT (quality time) is limited to the occasional church visit, birthday or something of that nature. Nevertheless, the times when we do get to kick it are nice.

So, the other day, he and I finally got another opportunity to hang for a bit….albeit before, during and after the funeral of an elder in our family. Now, Cam is all of 2 years old, right. He knows some folk. His circle of recognition exists but is understandably limited given his age. There are some select folk that he knows a little better; recognizes a little quicker than others. His momma, daddy, grandpa, teacher, etc. I, myself, lay somewhere in the middle. He knows me, ya understand...but he ain’t quite sure if he can trust me all the way, yet. At least, that WAS the case. I imagine he’d be, like, “hairy man….you look kinda familiar...but I’ma be cool and lay in the cut until I can know for sure who you are.” See, I can respect that. I credit the little brother for his prudence. ;-) However, it hadn't helped that my appearance tended to change periodically based on any given project I was doing or if I’d simply neglected to shave and get that desperately needed shape-up. But thankfully, again, he's getting much better at recognizing his old, hairy uncle, sooner. :-)

So, after the funeral, we’re all headed out to eat. As I mentioned, I’ve gladly been on “Cam-duty” pretty much this whole day. It’s been me and the kid, for the most part, connected at the hip (or on my arm, as it were). All the grown-ups are off doing their grown-up things. When we get to the restaurant, I get Cam from his car seat and carry him as I’d been doing for a majority of the day. And to my delight, Cam does something that I’ve never experienced him doing...at least, not with me. As he’s on my arm; his head near my shoulder. He proceeds to turn his head toward my back as he then lays his head on my shoulder. (Cue the “Awwwwww”) It was such a small, almost unnoticeable gesture. But to me, it meant the world. To me, it meant that he had become comfortable enough (and trusting enough) via time spent with me to not be as on guard and watchful as he would’ve otherwise been. He knew me, now. So much so, that he didn’t even have to concern himself as to what was in front of him. He could just turn his head and rest it on my shoulder. Wow! That’s dope, man. What a perfect picture of trust that demonstrated. I loved it!

See….that right there is the sort of trust any loving father, mother, auntie or uncle would want from a child placed in their care. And that’s exactly a picture of the trust our Heavenly Father wants from His children: a trust that says that I don’t have to know everything that’s in front of me - my future - BECAUSE I KNOW and thereby TRUST the One who holds my future. He’s got it and is quite capable taking care of it. He’s bigger and stronger and infinitely smarter than I am. I know this because I know Him. And because I know Him and His character, I’m more inclined to trust Him. That makes sense?

Look...in the same way as with my baby nephew, the degree of which you know someone - whether it be God, your spouse, your hairy uncle, ANYONE - is directly related to how much you are willing to place your trust them. If the time spent in pursuing a relationship is superficial and shallow then so will the depth and intimacy of that relationship be. This is true for ANY relationship: you wish to know someone, you spend time with them. You wish to know them, deeper, you deepen the QT time. If the breadth and width of your time spent with God is limited to Sunday morning church outings; radio, podcast and TV sermons OR in reading the occasional supplementary book & commentary "about" God, then your relationship - and accordingly - your trust of/in God will reflect that superficiality. Not that those things aren’t legitimate. But they are complementary pieces of a larger picture.

So, the question then becomes, “How do we really know God? How can we get to know Him? Is that even possible?” Now, to be clear...I’m not referring to a mere knowledge of God. Shoot, man….Satan knows a lot about God AND the Bible...way more than you or I, in fact. However, there is no intimacy. Lots of folk think that they know God, when in reality, they know a lot about Him. They have yet to forge an intimate bond with their loving Creator. But glory be to The Most High God for removing much of the guess work from knowing who He is while at the same time providing a way to foster the intimacy with Him that He desires to have with us!! God has graciously provided all of humanity with the absolute best gift and model of who He is: HIMSELF! In His loving sovereignty, God has given to us His own Divine Word clothed in human flesh (John 1:14); His only begotten Son (John 3:16); our Emmanuel “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14) - Jesus The Messiah!

“He (Jesus) is the radiance of His (God’s) glory and the exact representation of His nature.” ~ Hebrews 1:3

“For in Christ dwells all the fullness of God in bodily form.” ~ Colossians 2:9

See...our relationship with God is greatly influenced by what we know and the intimacy we have with His living Word: Jesus Christ. God and His Word are One (John 1:1). The more we know about Him as revealed on the pages of Holy Scripture, i.e. His character, His ways, His heart, etc.....the more we are better able and equipped to love and trust Him. See, the more I know about Him, the more I adore Him. The more I build intimacy with Him, the more grateful I am for Him and who He is. The deeper I go into the Scripture that explains His life, His person and His ministry - the more He is elevated in my mind and, accordingly, the more I worship Him. My time with Him becomes less religious and more relational - which is EXACTLY what He always intended of us. Again, God and His Word are One. He desires that as much as it is possible, we get to know and understand Him. (Eph. 5:17) To get more of Him - get more of His Word. To build a relationship with Him - build a relationship with His Word. And as a result of that relationship - of knowing who He is, intimately - a trust naturally develops. God’s shoulder becomes softer and more desirable to lean on and yield to. And you, in turn, become more willing to rest your “head” on it.

"Diary of a Mad Christian: A Cross Reference" is available on BarnesandNoble.com & Amazon.com and ALL E-Reader devices (iPad, Kindle & Nook)

Follow Us! www.twitter.com/MadChrstnDiary

Like Us! www.facebook.com/DiaryofaMadChristian

"For if we are beside ourselves [mad, as some say], it is for God and concerns Him; if we are in our right mind, it is for your benefit." ~ 2 Corinthians 5:13 (Amplified Bible)

G.O.S.P.E.L. by Propaganda

Propaganda - G.O.S.P.E.L.: http://youtu.be/vhe5qLju3h4