It's Monday!--Jesus Is Risen--He Has Risen Indeed!

Do not fear, for you 

will not be ashamed;

neither be disgraced,

for you will not be

put to shame; 

for you will forget

the shame of your youth....

For the LORD has called you

like a women forsaken and

grieved in spirit, like a 

youthful wife when you

were refused, says your God.

for a mere moment I have

forsaken you, but with

great mercies I will 

gather you.

Isaiah 53:4a; 6-7

     The holy week is over, Good Friday has come and gone, Holy Saturday is spent in our remembrance that the body of Jesus lay in the grave, resurrection Sunday passed by and for many it was a day of worship, for others it was a day of festivities; none the less, Monday is here and all that is before us is the future: what will you do with it? For some, the past week that we celebrate as the reason for the appearance of the Son of God here on earth, is nothing more than some Christian holiday, they scoff at our worship of Jesus Christ, they laugh at our piety and solemnity, and the mock our belief that the resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith. Yet, Isaiah wrote this fact: "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me" (Isaiah 54:17). It is God who will silence the oppressors, and it Jesus Christ, His resurrection, bodily, in plain view of all onlookers, and His visible ascension into heaven, from where our righteousness derives, we are eternal creatures and nothing here on earth can have hold on our lives: unless we allow it to be so! God is willing, we have the resurrected Son of God making intercession; but we have to place our faith in Him, and not in things of this world. It is Monday, what will you do with this knowledge that Jesus Christ suffered and died, lay in a tomb three days, bodily resurrected, and ascension into heave where He sits at the right hand of God making intercession for all of God's children? Has this knowledge empowered your faith? Are you willing to be used of God? Would you believe in God, have faith in His Son if He did not give you anything, and all that occurred in your life was some form of affliction? Will this derail your faith in Him? Do you want God to give to you but you are not willing to become devoted to Him and give your life for Him? It is time for a person to decide whether or not they are serious about their God and the reason they are left on this earth after believing upon Him and upon the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Will you? It's Monday, time is moving on and you have work to do, with you spouse, with your children, with your church, in your studies so that you are prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks. Turn off that TV, turn off that radio, put away your Ipad, your cell phone, anything that will distract you from doing exactly what God demands of all of His children: to preach the word, both in our life and by word. To examine what is being taught in the pulpit, in Bible studies, and this examination is by knowing the word of God, and this knowing comes to a person by their intentional study. Did not Jesus send His disciples to make disciples? Did not that command extend to all of God's children? Yes! God through the apostle Paul reminds us that how are people going to hear the word of God, for if they do not hear, how are they going to be able to respond? We do not know all of God's children, and we do not know who will respond, but we do know that we are to preach the word, in our life and in our actions. Paul writes: "And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace (Isaiah 52:7), who bring glad tidings of good things" (Romans 10:15:cf. Nahum 1:15)! Paul admonishes Christians to preach for if not then how would anyone hear the gospel and put their faith in it, for he says: "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Let me take note for you on this verse: 1. Faith comes by hearing. 2. Hearing is of the spoken word of God, for that is the Greek word used here in this verse: "ἄρα ἡ πίστις ἐξ ἀκοῆς ἡ δὲ ἀκοὴ διὰ ῥήματος Θεοῦ" I have made the word to be red and bold to show that it is the spoken word that is used here in this verse; yes we are to read His word as it is the inspired word of God, but we are to be able to speak the gospel, and to show from His word where we have gotten what we say, it is not to be something that God has somehow revealed to use in some vision or special thought, no, it is that the Holy Spirit will cause you to remember, to call to mind that which you have put into your memory, even if you do not at all times remember a particular verse. Something must be said about the Bible that so many have come to read and have left out the Authorized Version or the New King James version, It is the NIV, or the ESV versions, yet the NIV has not done well with this verse. The NIV reads: "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17 NIV). You might think that I am being "picky" but I am not for a study of the various manuscripts find that this translation is not to be found except in the critical text, and softens the fact that the word we preach is the word of God, that it is more than just a message, it is the spoken word of God that we preach, this and this alone will cause those that God has drawn to Him, and enabled, that person through the gift of faith given to that person by God: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). James adds this important fact: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17). It's Monday, the message we preach, the words that come from our mouths is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that by His death everlasting life is through His death and given to those who will believe on Him. How can they believe? For some theologians belief can come just from a man or woman desiring to make a decision for Christ. James says no; for all perfect gifts, and the gift of faith is one of those gifts, comes only from the Father. Why? If you take the belief that anyone can believe, by their own power then you have destroyed the fact that man is totally depraved, and that deprivation requires that man must die, the justice of God must be met, so if man could choose from his own will, then this doctrine of total depravity is destroyed and so is the need for a savior, one who could pay a debt that no man can pay. If one cannot by themselves pay this debt, then how can we say that they can choose God by their own admission from their own belief? They can't! So then, which will it be, a belief in man being totally depraved and in need of a Savior, but not being able to choose the One sent by God as Savior, they need that thing that they do not have, faith. 2. Or, God gives that perfect gift, and then by that gift of faith, they are now enabled to choose the Savior and believe on Him. James caution us in this regard: "Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren" (James 1:16). 
     It's Monday, take up your cross and follow Jesus, do not let anyone or anything deter you from following Jesus. It will take courage, it will take a change in lifestyle, you may have to cast of things that have in the past been enjoyable by you, but now your decisions based on the faith that is driving you to desire Him, to live for Him, to be willing to be a martyr for Him, is now the most driving force in your life. Monday is here, Tuesday is on its way, the future is ahead, the only question then is: what will you do with what God has given you? 

Listen to Me, you who
      follow after righteousness,
you who seek the LORD;
     Look to the rock from which
you were hewn, and to the hole
     of the pit from which you were dug.
                                             Isaiah 51:1


It's Monday--Praise God


Richard L. Crumb