christianity

How to avoid hopelessness in three easy steps

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

How to avoid hopelessness (yes this is bad advice):

First stop asking for anything.  If I really want something I find reasons I should not have it.  This works great because then you cannot be disappointed when you do not get it.  Instead of disappointment I get “contentment.”  After all the Apostle Paul said I have learned to be content in every situation.  Yes I know that when you ask for something in Jesus’s name He says He will do it, but that is if you pray according to the Fathers will and as a man I cannot possibly know the Father’s will so I should not ask in the first place.  Oh how much easier life is when you stop asking for things and just get content.  Maybe your car is dead and you are going to lose your job because you cannot get to work thats OK because you should be content in your situation.  Maybe you don’t have health insurance, and your wife needs to see a doctor.  That’s ok just be content.  That is the most important thing.

Second stop trying.  This is where it gets a little harder.  Trying is a lot like asking but this is on you.  When you ask you are trying to get someone else to help you, but trying is all on you.  So stop it.  Just realize that the chances of success are slim and there are better people out there for the job.  See doesn’t that make it better already.  You have failed before so why would you want to face that disappointment again?  Just rest.  That’s right rest.  The Bible says to rest a lot so you should do that.  Now don’t be lazy just stop trying.  God will just give you the victory if He wants you to have it (but don’t ask for it).  Just rest and know that if you try you will more than likely fail so save your energy for something else that you can do.

Third and this is the key stop desiring.  Stop desiring something better.  If you can just lower your expectations a little you will be better off.  This one takes some time, but little by little if you stop desiring a better life, job, or financial situation it will be come easier.  After all that is just coveting.  I mean we have already seen you should be content and rest so you need to stop coveting a better life.  If God wanted you to have a better life then you would have it.  If things are hard He is probably just testing you again, and again, and again.  You just need to stop.  Oh how much peace you will have when you stop desiring.  I mean don’t get me wrong if God shows up and in a big booming voice tells you something then by all means stop and pray about it for a few decades but don’t rush into anything.  The last thing you want to do is ever make a mistake.

See if you just follow my three simple steps you will have mediocrity and that is a lot like victory.  I mean do you really want to go through the heartache of failure, or the trouble of bothering someone, or your situation not improving?  Of course not who would.  So take my advice and just chill.

 

Just a bad thought,

Mike   

How to avoid hopelessness (yes this is bad advice):

 

First stop asking for anything.  If I really want something I find reasons I should not have it.  This works great because then you cannot be disapointed when you do not get it.  Instead of disappointment I get “contentment.”  After all the Apostle Paul said I have learned to be content in every situation.  Yes I know that when you ask for something in Jesus’s name He says He will do it, but that is if you pray according to the Fathers will and as a man I cannot possibly know the Father’s will so I should not ask in the first place.  Oh how much easier life is when you stop asking for things and just get content.  Maybe your car is dead and you are going to lose your job because you cannot get to work thats OK because you should be content in your situation.  Maybe you don’t have health insurance, and your wife needs to see a doctor.  That’s ok just be content.  That is the most important thing.

 

Second stop trying.  This is where it gets a little harder.  Trying is a lot like asking but this is on you.  When you ask you are trying to get someone else to help you, but trying is all on you.  So stop it.  Just realize that the chances of success are slim and there are better people out there for the job.  See doesn’t that make it better already.  You have failed before so why would you want to face that disappointment again?  Just rest.  That’s right rest.  The Bible says to rest a lot so you should do that.  Now don’t be lazy just stop trying.  God will just give you the victory if He wants you to have it (but don’t ask for it).  Just rest and know that if you try you will more than likely fail so save your energy for something else that you can do.

 

Third and this is the key stop desiring.  Stop desiring something better.  If you can just lower your expectations a little you will be better off.  This one takes some time, but little by little if you stop desiring a better life, job, or financial situation it will be come easier.  After all that is just coveting.  I mean we have already seen you should be content and rest so you need to stop coveting a better life.  If God wanted you to have a better life then you would have it.  If things are hard He is probably just testing you again, and again, and again.  You just need to stop.  Oh how much peace you will have when you stop desiring.  I mean don’t get me wrong if God shows up and in a big booming voice tells you something then by all means stop and pray about it for a few decades but don’t rush into anything.  The last thing you want to do is ever make a mistake.

 

See if you just follow my three simple steps you will have mediocrity and that is a lot like victory.  I mean do you really want to go through the heartache of failure, or the trouble of bothering someone, or your situation not improving?  Of course not who would.  So take my advice and just chill.

 

Just a bad thought,

Mike   

 

 

Where are you supposed to be?

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

I was thinking about David and Bathsheba yesterday.  Specifically about what lead up to the whole roof top, baby, and murder incidents.  There is something we can see that started this chain of events and something that also happens in your and mine.  The phrase I am referring to is “but David remained in Jerusalem.”  That one little phrase set of a chain of tragic events and devastating consequences.

If you do not know the story of these two then I recommend you read it.  There is a lot to going from understanding the story and seeing God’s great love.  But right now I want to focus on that phrase “but David remained in Jerusalem.”  This phrase is so very important because it succinctly shows how the rest of David’s life was set on a path he would have never chosen nor wanted all because he remained in Jerusalem.  You see David was supposed to be somewhere else, he had a place he was supposed to be but instead he was where he wasn’t supposed to be.  I do not like to use phrases like always, or never, but in this case I am going to.  If you remain where you are not supposed to be then you will always have some degree of trouble.  God has appointed a place for you to be.  Maybe it is locationally, emotionally, or spiritually, know this God has somewhere you are supposed to be, and if you are not there you will find trouble.

Let’s say like David, it is locational.  He was supposed to be in 20 miles east of the Jordan in Rabbath but he wasn’t there.  Instead he was in Jerusalem doing what he wanted to do.  This caused him to see something he should not have seen, and since he was already not doing what God wanted what is one more thing.  After all he thought “I am the King”.  Sorry David wrong answer.  You should have been where you belonged.  I got into heaps of trouble as a kid because I skipped school.  I was not in trouble for skipping school, it was the things that I was doing while I should have been in school that got me into the most trouble.  I was not where I belonged.

Let’s say it is emotionally.  You should have forgiven your father, brother, mother, husband, wife, son, daughter, cop, pastor, or whatever.  You should have let that burden go and moved on with your life, but you don’t.  Instead you stew on it and let it fester.  You think about it all the time.  You start to get in a good mood and then let it bring you back down.  How could they, how dare they, don’t they know, don’t they care.  You list all the reasons over and over again until finally it completely consumes you.  Guess what though…You don’t belong there.  You have somewhere you are supposed to be.  God has a place of perfect peace for you.  You are in the emotional land of Strife, but God has intended for you to be in the land of Shalom.  Shalom does not just mean peace, but peace, prosperity, completeness, and welfare.  That is where God intends for you to be.

What do I mean by spiritually though.  How can you be in the wrong place there?  Maybe you are not spending time with God.  Maybe you ignore him for whatever reason (usually something to do with the two above).  God has a place that you belong, and it’s called Relationship.  Perfect relationship actually.  Christians usually call this fellowship , but that just means spending time with and enjoying company.  God wants to spend time with you and wants you to enjoy time with Him.  Jesus did everything He did so that this could happen.  He wants you bad.  If you’re not in the right place here you will continually look for a place to be and find more and more trouble.

The tricky part of all of this is sometimes we honestly do not know where we are supposed to be.  I myself have struggled with this for years.  I am starting to get there but it is hard.  Spend time in prayer, ask God where you are supposed to be, and then go there.  Once you know where you are supposed to be it all gets better.  I am not saying you will never have trouble.  Jesus says in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in Me you will have peace.  In this world you will have trouble,  but take heart!  I have overcome the world.”  Life can always be hard and anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to sell you something.  Take heart my friend Jesus has overcome and made a place for you.

Just a thought,

Mike

Fathers…..

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Kenneth Ray Reid 7/1961.  That is almost everything I know about my biological father.  That and he served in the Army and has a twin sister named Debbie.  We now all know the same thing.  According to one census there are about 24 million children in the US right now living in a home without a biological father.  Some families may be divorced or have other similar circumstances so lets go ahead and drop that number in half to 12 million children…. Does that make it easier to bear?  Lets go ahead and add in the last two generations but only half from each and say 12 million adults who do not know or have any relationship with their fathers.  I am one of those 12 million.

Don’t get me wrong I am not whining.  I have done that and I have moved on (as much as one can) but I still think about it from time to time.  I think what did I do wrong, what was wrong with me, and so on.  Truth is there was nothing I could do on my part I was not even born yet.  No, it was just him deciding for whatever reason he did not want to be a father.  So I do the only thing I can, I forgive and I move on.  I take all of those feelings and fears and put them to good use.  I strive to be a great father to my children.  My wife and I have a daughter and she has two boys from her first marriage.  The only thing that is different between the three of them to me is that one is a girl.  I love those boys with all of my heart, I would and have done anything for them.

Why do I tell you this?  Why like any other time do I ask for a minute of your time?  Because sometimes life sucks, sometimes we are given a raw deal.  I want to you to know that I feel you I really do but at some point you have to make a choice.  You have to ask yourself “Will I let my past and my circumstances direct me, or will I take control?”  

I want to see fathers lead their families, I want to see young men who are like me (fatherless) come to the Father and see the life He has for them.  I want them to take what the world handed them and use it to reach others with the hope of Christ.  I want to see boys become men of God.  I know how hard it is and the pain from some things never actually go away.  Sometimes it hits me from nowhere (like now) but when it does I am reminded that I am not that man, no I am not him.  I am ME a new man in God and I will lead my family.  I will be there to take my kids out when I do not want to.  I will watch Disney when I want to watch UFC, and I will not let others decide who they become I will be a man.

Women, you are not unwanted, and you are not disposable.  You have a Father that loves you, and cares for you.  You do not have to seek attention or “love” from men who only care about themselves.  You were created for a purpose and have a mission for your life.  I know the love of a woman who knows who she is in Christ and I am so very blessed by it.  When you give yourself to God He will make you whole and new.  I cannot speak much as to what it means to be a woman who has no father but I can say you are worth more than you know, and any man who does not value you is not a man at all.

 

Just a thought,

Mike

For as for me and my house we will serve the LORD. – Joshua 24:15

 

Biscuits and Gravy

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Peacefulness and thankfulness go together like biscuits and gravy.  Sure you can have them separately but when you put them together you have a dynamite combination.  

In Colossians 3:15 Paul says “Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body to this peace), and be thankful.” (NET Bible)  If you let the peace that comes from Christ control or rule in your heart you will have peace.  You will have a true peace that passes understanding in the midst of everything.  In turn you can be thankful.

Now before you start in on the “if you only knew what I was going through you would understand” speech let me tell you something, I am not at peace right now. I have not been at peace for awhile either.  My wife and I are trying to find a place to live and are not having much luck finding anything we can afford (and would want to live in).  We are trying to figure out how to pay off most of our debt, and a few other issues.  Because of these things I have not been at peace.  I mean as long as nothing else happens I can keep it together but as soon as the dog barks or the little one cries I start to feel like I am going to lose it.  That is not peace, but holding on.  I do not want to just hold on, I want peace.  

So how do I get this peace?  How do I get to a place of thankfulness and ultimately rest?  Simple answer is I let the peace of Christ control my heart.  Mind you that is the easy answer.  The hard part like all things is walking it out.  So here are some simple things I think will help you and me let His peace reign over our hearts.

First, stop looking at the check book so much.  You’re broke and need to pay bills, but if you check the account in the morning it will more than likely be the same way in the evening.  So here is what we can do.  Check your account in the morning and then pray.  Ask God to help you get what you need to get through the day.  Notice I did not say ask God for the money (not that it is wrong to do so, I am praying for 50k), but instead ask Him to provide.  I have had groceries show up on my porch, toy for Christmas, and a ride when I was walking.  You need a new job, house, etc.  Same solution.  Take a look in the morning and again in the evening.  Other than that just ask Him to provide.  He knows your needs and will meet them.

Second, is be thankful for what you do have.  Maybe you are flat broke but you still have something to be thankful for.  Time with your kids, time with your dog, time with your pillow….  Whatever it is, enjoy the things you do have.

Third, feel free to cry.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with crying out to God.  Read the book of Psalms; a good portion of that was David crying out to God for help.  Look at Elijah he cried out to God, Jesus in the Garden cried out to Father to let the cup pass.  Nothing wrong at all with crying out to God and saying please help me I cannot do this and I am so tired.

Again remember I am writing this to me as well as you.  I need to remember and do these things.  My hope is I can take my own advice and let the peace of Christ control my heart.

 

Just a thought,

Mike  

Lets not make it personal ok…

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Sorry this one gets personal because we are going to talk about you, I mean me, no wait you and me.  Don’t worry not you and me in a weird why haven’t you called I really thought we connected kind of way.  More of in a how you can mean you as in ya’ll or you as in you with the face who is reading this.

1 John 1:9 (NKJV) says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

This verse is pretty personal when you understand that the our being used is a Personal / Possessive Pronoun which means it is talking about you, I mean me, no wait you and me.  It might as well be saying “If I Mike confess my sin, He is faithful and just to forgive me (Mike) my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.”  I could go on and add your name but with the hundreds of readers I have (that was a lie) I am sure I would miss someone.

We need to confess our specific sins.  There is something very powerful in confessing our specific sins.  Something about confessing that you need forgiveness for that addiction, or how you were cruel to that person, or whatever it might be.  I cannot stress enough how much freedom there is in confessing that you are sorry for that specific sin.  Now to not get me wrong and think that I am saying you are not forgiven for all of your sins if you do not confess them one by one.  When you confess that you are a sinner and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior believing that died for you then you are forgiven and a become in that moment a child of God.  That does not mean though that you have forgiven yourself.  There are some sins that need specific confession, and they change over time as you mature in your walk with Jesus.  But the fact that He is faithful and just (righteous) to forgive you does not change.

That brings me to my last point.  God is right when He forgives you.  Have you ever thought about that?  When I think about the fact that God is right when He forgives me it blows me away.  He is not right because I want Him to, rather He is right because He says He is.  He says it here and in Romans 10:13 “for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved, and Acts 2:21, and so forth and so forth.  God declares that He will forgive you and He is right when He does it.  That is just mind blowing.  The God of all the universe, the maker of things seen and unseen, the one who sees my tomorrow and my past says I will forgive you and I am just as right in forgiving you as I was in creating the earth and sending my Son to die.

You cannot argue with that, you cannot say sure but what about, or not me.  You can only accept it or ignore it.  Just remember though if you ignore it you are still wrong and He is still waiting to forgive you.

Just a thought,

Mike 

Submit I say. …. Bow down before me

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

I want to talk about 1 Peter 3:1-4 for a minute.  Now I am sure there are going to be a few Christian men who decided to read the whole article this time and a few Christian women who have decided they may no longer like me.  But in normal Farley fashion (that’s my last name) I am going to put a little different spin on it.  My thoughts on 1 Peter 3:1-4 actually stem Jeremiah 29:7 which I have been spending a good deal of time thinking about.

Jeremiah 29:7 (NLT)
And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.

1 Peter 3:1-4 (NLT)
1 In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over
2 by observing your pure and reverent lives.
3 Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.
4 You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

When the nation of Israel was in Babylonian captivity God spoke to them through Jeremiah and told them to work for and pray for the peace and welfare of the city.  In 1 Peter 3, Peter tells the women to work for the peace and welfare of their husbands.  I love that.  Too many people try and use the words of 1 Peter to mean something without understand the point of the verses.  It is not about some abstract submission for the sake of submission.  It is about serving and giving.  It is about loving and wanting the best for the other person.  What Peter says to women here the Bible speaks to all people.  Serve one another, win them to Christ by love and compassion.  Give the best to them.  Don’t worry so much about how you look or what you wear.  Take care of yourself but they are not going to come to Christ because you look like a model, or drive a Bentley.  Pray for them and work for their welfare.

The goal of it all is that Christ is honored and glorified.  That men (and women) come to faith and repentance in Him.  All that we do should be to bring Jesus to them.  We are a body and as a body we should mobile.  Don’t just invite people to Church on Sunday bring it to them on Monday.  Bring the good news with you when you go to work, bring it home when you get there.  Show your husbands why Jesus is better, show your wives why Jesus is greater, show your children why His love is more.  Seek the peace and welfare of those around you.  Pray for your family, for your neighbors, for your nation.  Don’t nag your spouse, your government to death.  Instead nurture and foster love and faith in Christ.

I’m not going to say any more on that, but I do want to drop a sentence of two about 1 Peter 3:7.  Men do you feel like God is not listening to you?  Do you feel like no matter what you do you cannot seem to get ahead spiritually?  Make sure you read verse 7, and then make sure you live it.  Keep it in the forefront of your mind and make sure you remember it.

Just a thought,
Mike

Missed it by that much…..

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Max Smart from Get Smart was famous for this line but all too often we as Christians have to say it as well. I can sit back and think about numerous times where I missed what Jesus was saying. Times that I was so close but almost only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades. In John chapter 4:10 we see Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman and he says to her “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would ask Him, and He would give you living water.” Now it is often easy for us when we read the Bible to look at the people who missed it with a certain smugness as if to say “if that were me I would have done better” but the truth is we miss it all too often.

How many times have we prayed for an open door and then walked right by it? Or how many times have we asked God to provide and then when He does we think we figured it out? I have decided that I am going to make a more conscientious effort turn the doorknobs and if they open a door I will walk through them as the child of God I am. I will be more intentional with my daily praise. Small or big I will praise Him who gives. I believe if I do this I might not have to regret missing it.

I don’t like looking back and thinking what if, maybe, I’m not sure, should I, or you fill in the blank. I am not talking about being careless and there is a fine line but all too often I personally err on the side of caution and not grace. All too often to I pray when I should act. I am not built for that, and neither are you. We are called out of the world to be active. Our faith is in an active God and we should be more like our Father. After all, if He can speak the world into existence he can surely…….

The amazing shrinking man

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

In an effort to get through the book of John and make the post a little easier on the eyes I am going to try (I only promise to try) and keep the post to a page or less.

I am praying for the same spirit John the Baptiser had.  I want to be only concerned with people knowing Jesus.  I want to be able to say as John says in John 3:30
“I must become less and He must become more”

I don’t want to have any hesitation with it either.  I want to know when to prepare the way and when to get out of the way.  I have an issue with this because I love to talk (just ask my wife).  I love to talk to people and I don’t really care where I am.  I enjoy helping someone understand something and also receiving from them.  Conversation is one of my favorite pastimes.  What I want to know without a doubt though is when to stop.  I want to be able to see that God has taken over this conversation or situation and I am just going to get in the way. 

John knew what his mission was, he knew that the Messiah was coming, and when He (Jesus) did it was time for John to sit down.  I want to be able to do that.  I want to know that I have completed my mission.  I want to know where to prepare and when the preparation is complete.  This can happen in large or small ways.

An example from daily life you ask.  I would be happy. 

I was recently having coffee with a young man and we were conversing for almost an hour when two women came over and asked if they could pray for us.  This was definitely a sign from God that He was taking over the situation.  I was so pleased that after prayer had ended I knew my part was done.  That I did my job and prepared the way for the Lord, and now it was time for Him to increase and for me to decrease.  It was such a beautiful moment I would have only ruined it if I continued. 

That is what John is talking about here in verses 22-36.  He is telling his disciples that I have done my job and now I can watch and enjoy as the Groom takes His bride.  He then goes further to confirm Jesus’s statement earlier in the chapter by saying that those who believe in the Son have eternal life and those who do not are already condemned.  He understood his job that well. 

John’s job was the same as yours and mine.  We are to prepare the way of the Lord.  It is not our job to make anyone accept Him, or receive Him, but to prepare the way.  1 Cor 12:3 says in a loose paraphrase that you only call Jesus Lord because of the Holy Spirit.  This means we do our part and then God takes the person and convicts as they need, or enlightens as they need.  Do you job and get out of the way.

One last closing thought.  Sometimes you prepare to a point, and then someone else is suppose to come along and take over.  Paul says in 1 Cor 3:6 “I plant the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.”  Remember that as we minister to people because that is a very important part of the process. 

Just a thought,
Mike

Born Again….Wait What?

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Preface:

I have been going back and forth on John 3:1-21 for a little over a week now and I think I finally understand why.  The problem I have with sharing from this particular section of John is it makes me emotional so sharing my gleanings from it keep coming from an emotional place.  So rather than fight that I am just going to go with it.

Jesus declares in verse 3 “no one can see the the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” But what does it mean to be born again?  This is the question Nicodemus asks Jesus and I think many of us have asked that same question.  I would imagine any non-Christians reading this or any other writings would ask the same question.  I mean after all it sounds very new agey and hokey pokey.  It sounds like something people say when they reach the end of their logic and cannot think of anything else to say “Well you just have to be born again.”  My question is what do we do with a statement like that?  Where do we go with something like that?  How do I put that into my daily life?

The simple and easy way to understand this is that God wants to be in a close and personal relationship with you.  He does not just want to be your Father He wants to be your Daddy.  That is mind blowing!  Maybe you read that last statement and went “OK and”…. But let me tell you why that is so powerful.  What Jesus is saying by be born again is God the all powerful, Creator, Maker of all, Master of the Universe wants to be your Dad.  He wants you to be His child.  This is so beyond amazing that I want to just stop typing because I cannot think of how to expound on that.

Jesus has changed the entire paradigm with the born again statement.  He has shifted everything.  So many of us have this idea about God that He does not care and has left us to our own devices.  But that is so beyond wrong that it make me almost cry.  God loves you, God the Father wants you to call Him Daddy.  He wants you to run to Him and let Him hold you.  He wants you to be with Him.  That is the Gospel message.  You want the Gospel here it is: God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to be the sacrifice so that you can believe in His name and be born again as a child of the Most High and call Him Daddy.

There it is.  It really is that simple.  What does it mean to be born again, how do I apply that to my life?  I understand that God wants me.  I understand that God chose me.  I did not chose Him, but He reached down when I could do nothing and chose to love me and give everything for me.

When I came to Christ I did not do it in a church building, or with someone standing there giving me a prayer to pray (I am not saying anything bad about any of that), or after or during some tragedy.  I accepted Him when I was doing the dishes.  It was not an emotional event.  It was not a pressured event. It was simple and to the point.  I had a million questions about God and I was told I have to have faith.  I had enough faith to believe that God was real.  That was it no more no less.  I told Jesus in a very plain and clear way that I had destroyed my life by 22, taken drugs, tried to kill myself, and hated everything about me and most people.  If He wanted me and could use my life He could have it.  That was it.  He said yes and now I am no longer my own.  I am a son of God.  I was born again.  How do I apply what Jesus says in John 3:1-21 to my life I remember that my Daddy loves me.  I remember I am His.  That no matter what comes it is well with my soul.

Oh to feel the love of God, to feel His presence.  I cannot express it but I so badly want everyone to know it.  You don’t need to understand it all, you don’t need to “feel” it.  You need to accept it.  That is the reason we are reading though John together.  I want you to take a chance and say “Jesus I give you a try.”  I want everyone believer and nonbeliever to try Jesus.  If you know Him give Him another area of your life, if you don’t know Him then tell Him you would like to.  I did not feel it when I gave Him my life, but I was willing to try Him.

Just a thought,

Mike

St Patrick Day / 1 Cor 15

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Last lines of the Lorica of Patrick (Lorica means body armor)

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left
Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Thrones,
Through confession of the Oneness
Towards the Creator.

Saint Patrick was a man who served the Irish people until the time of his death on March 17th 460 (or 492).  Now this message is not about Patrick, but I wanted to take this as an opportunity for me to learn a little of him and pass it along.  Patrick was a slave in Ireland from age 16 to 22.  At which point he escaped back to his home in Banna Venta Berniae.  A few years after returning home he had a vision.

I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: “The Voice of the Irish”. As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea—and they cried out, as with one voice: “We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.”

It was not long after this that he returns to Ireland.  In a very real way, he returned to Ireland a slave again.  Formerly a slave to his master who owned his body and now to One who owned his soul.  One may have paid a small price for his labour but the other paid an unimaginable price for his redemption.  I find it very odd that a holiday celebrated under the name of this great servant named Patrick is known outside of the country he loved with drinking and no self-control.

It is ironic to be sure.  Almost as ironic as the false teaching Paul must address in 1 Cor 15.  We are not going to cover the entire chapter but focus first on verses 12-19 and then 20-22. The issue before the Corinthians was a simple one of not taking a thought to its conclusion.  Paul is simply taking their thought to its conclusion here.  If the dead do not raise, then neither did Christ.  If you accept that Christ raised from the dead, then you must accept that there is a resurrection.  There are a few staples of Christianity that you must believe in order to be a Christian and I believe the Apostles Creed sums them up nicely.

Modern Language Version
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. AMEN.

You see the belief in the resurrection of Jesus vital, but why?  Why is this one point so important?  What possible value or meaning do we take away from it?  Paul tells us in verse 17-19 “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.  If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all the most to be pitied.”

If Christ did not raise you are still dead in your sins.  There is no hope, no future, no possible escape for the pain, suffering, and hurt that you have.  Without the resurrection of Jesus, we are hopeless, and what’s more pathetic.  For this means we understand the gravity of the situation (sin) and know we have no possible way of avoiding the great judgment we have coming against us.  The Muslim thinks he can do enough good to balance the scales in his favor, the Buddhist that he can try again, the Atheist that there is nothing anyway, and so on.  But as believers of the one true God ones that know we have sinned against Him and that His holiness requires perfection to stand before Him we understand that if Christ did not rise from the dead there is truly no hope for the Muslim, or the Buddhist, or the Atheist, or you, or me.  We understand the problem.

So much hinges on the fact that Christ rose from the dead.  It means you will be raised.  In a very real and tangible way if you have accepted Christ then you have received a resurrection.  Colossians 2:13 says You were dead because of your sins and because of your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins.” How can we not rejoice, how can we not say as Patrick said, “If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God so as to teach these peoples.”  The resurrection means God loves you.  It means He has a plan for you, it means He has a purpose for you.  Paul says in verse 14 that if Christ is not raised our preaching is useless, and so is your faith.  That means the resurrection of Jesus Christ does not mean something, it means everything.

We have now gone through the verses 12-19 and seen the importance of the resurrection of Jesus but now I think it only fitting to look at verses 20-22.  If we are going to take a thought to its conclusion as I mentioned earlier then we need to take this thought to its conclusion.  We have seen that if the dead are not raised then Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised then we are still in our sins and pitiful.  But we do not have to worry because we can have confidence that Jesus has been raised from the dead (through History and Scripture), and if we have accepted Him we are as Colossians 3:3 says dead (to sin) and hidden with Christ in God.  Why?  Because as verse 22 says just as all who are in Adam die, but and this is a beautiful thing in Christ all will be made alive.  To know that one day I will stand before my Lord and Father in Heaven leaves me in awe.  To know that I will see my Grandparents, the loved ones lost to death, to stand with Patrick as together we all worship the Lord forever makes me ask why?  Why would someone give me this gift I so greatly do not deserve?  Why would one come for someone as pitiful as me?  For the sake of love.  To redeem what is rightfully His.  I am so thankful there is a resurrection of the dead.  If not, then I would not stand before you today the changed man I am.  But thanks be to God that Christ was raised.

Just a thought,
Mike

*This message has been updated slightly from its original form.