Grant Swank
Easter resurrection
By Grant Swank
The cross is not the end. The cross leads to resurrection dawn. Resurrection dawn is the most awesome miracle known to human history. God Himself came back from the dead due to God Himself bringing Himself back from the dead, just as He had said.
God brought Lazarus back from the dead. But no god of any world religion has brought himself back from the dead. No goddess of any world religion has brought herself back from the dead. Only the Judeo-Christian faith points to a Messiah-Christ who was murdered by evil betraying hands, then canceled out their plot by bringing Himself back from the dead.
Consequently, the Word points to this outlandish One as the Almighty.
Therefore, it is logical for the cross bearer to continually refer to his Creator God as the "Almighty." That term alone will revive the concept basic to deity — that there is no other God but God.
When the believer carries the cross, he needs reassurance that he is going to make it. Indeed that he is going to do more than make it, but make it triumphantly! Therefore, one way by which to confirm that future realization is to present tense the moment with thanksgiving to the ALMIGHTY One.
Now thank the Almighty for being with you in lifting high the cross. Inform the Almighty that you are in love with Him for His saving grace upon your eternal soul. Reach out to that Almighty One to find Him also clutching your cross, assisting you with the cross.
Now realize that the Almighty, being almighty, cannot know defeat; nor can you since you are in yoke-league with the Almighty. Therefore, no matter how bleak circumstances appear now, the present tense cross is not all there is. There will be the resurrection dawn. That is the law of life. It must be fact or God Himself is a liar.
Since God Himself is the source of Truth, then Almighty present tense will work out His future tense resurrection dawn miracle in your life. Wait. Be patient. Do not chide God. Be kind to yourself. Let God be God. Fold into His mystery.
Refrain from ordering deity to do anything. And the last thing you want to do — in fact, not do — is to pray a prayer of directives. That is, you do not want to phrase your own solution to your problem inside a prayer and then ask God to baptize it as a prayer. It is not a prayer at all; it is you playing deity. That cannot be for you cannot eat the forbidden fruit (that is, playing God) and live.
Therefore, right now rest in the Almighty's scheme of things, determined to become less and less strained about the end result. But what to do with your energy while waiting upon the Almighty's way and time!
Direct your energy toward thanksgiving, refining your mustard seed faith, looking at the cross as your supreme blessing. In time, it surely will show you that it is more than wood stained; it is but the foreshadowing of resurrection dawn.
That is according to the law of life.
No wonder then that the Word urges believers to "pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:l7), that is, lay hold of the almighty resurrection presence every moment of every day. When Paul urged his friends to talk to God all the time, it was so much a command for spiritual discipline as it was a realization of the nature of God.
God never slumbers nor sleeps, the psalmist reminds us. That is, God is always present tense. God is never unavailable. He is always there. That is why Jesus stated to the disciples, "I will never leave you. . ." He meant it for He is ever there — in resurrection presence.
Consequently, when carrying the yoke-cross with Jesus, one finds that He never leaves our sides. He is yoked to our very beings. When we do not realize Jesus, it is because we are detoured. We become distracted and so lapse in memory of His companionship.
To carry the cross, one wants to develop a lifestyle of understanding God-availability. Realize that your Friend is but a thought away. Immediately redirect your thought toward Jesus and you are in audience with Him. This moment, think on God and you have stepped into the holiness of heaven's throne.
Some have interpreted this verse of Paul to be a heavy command. It is not. It is an invitation to converse with your Lord minute-by-minute. It is keeping in constant rapport, even when in sleep, realizing that your God is still awake. He is attentive. That is why the Word states that He supplies your every need. The reason is due to the fact of His forever vigilance. God takes no time off. Such amplifies all the more the term "Father" in relation to deity. He is the perfectly attentive Parent.
When the cross becomes excessively burdensome, do not think you have to beg for Jesus' awareness of your problem. He is more aware than you are.
Consequently, cry upon Him, knowing that He sympathizes and so is carrying the heavier end of the beam. It may not seem that way in every minute you carry the cross. You may experience what Jesus Himself experienced when He felt as if the Father had forsaken him. But in finality, Father had not forsaken Jesus; it only seemed that way. And God has not forsaken you, though it may feel that way.
Reality is that God-availability is an expression of the nature of deity and therefore cannot be divorced from His essence. What He has stated Himself to be, He is. Therefore, by faith, take full advantage of God being near to you, then draw near to Him for He does care for you.
"My grace is sufficient for thee." II Corinthians l2:9
© Grant Swank
March 26, 2011
The cross is not the end. The cross leads to resurrection dawn. Resurrection dawn is the most awesome miracle known to human history. God Himself came back from the dead due to God Himself bringing Himself back from the dead, just as He had said.
God brought Lazarus back from the dead. But no god of any world religion has brought himself back from the dead. No goddess of any world religion has brought herself back from the dead. Only the Judeo-Christian faith points to a Messiah-Christ who was murdered by evil betraying hands, then canceled out their plot by bringing Himself back from the dead.
Consequently, the Word points to this outlandish One as the Almighty.
Therefore, it is logical for the cross bearer to continually refer to his Creator God as the "Almighty." That term alone will revive the concept basic to deity — that there is no other God but God.
When the believer carries the cross, he needs reassurance that he is going to make it. Indeed that he is going to do more than make it, but make it triumphantly! Therefore, one way by which to confirm that future realization is to present tense the moment with thanksgiving to the ALMIGHTY One.
Now thank the Almighty for being with you in lifting high the cross. Inform the Almighty that you are in love with Him for His saving grace upon your eternal soul. Reach out to that Almighty One to find Him also clutching your cross, assisting you with the cross.
Now realize that the Almighty, being almighty, cannot know defeat; nor can you since you are in yoke-league with the Almighty. Therefore, no matter how bleak circumstances appear now, the present tense cross is not all there is. There will be the resurrection dawn. That is the law of life. It must be fact or God Himself is a liar.
Since God Himself is the source of Truth, then Almighty present tense will work out His future tense resurrection dawn miracle in your life. Wait. Be patient. Do not chide God. Be kind to yourself. Let God be God. Fold into His mystery.
Refrain from ordering deity to do anything. And the last thing you want to do — in fact, not do — is to pray a prayer of directives. That is, you do not want to phrase your own solution to your problem inside a prayer and then ask God to baptize it as a prayer. It is not a prayer at all; it is you playing deity. That cannot be for you cannot eat the forbidden fruit (that is, playing God) and live.
Therefore, right now rest in the Almighty's scheme of things, determined to become less and less strained about the end result. But what to do with your energy while waiting upon the Almighty's way and time!
Direct your energy toward thanksgiving, refining your mustard seed faith, looking at the cross as your supreme blessing. In time, it surely will show you that it is more than wood stained; it is but the foreshadowing of resurrection dawn.
That is according to the law of life.
No wonder then that the Word urges believers to "pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:l7), that is, lay hold of the almighty resurrection presence every moment of every day. When Paul urged his friends to talk to God all the time, it was so much a command for spiritual discipline as it was a realization of the nature of God.
God never slumbers nor sleeps, the psalmist reminds us. That is, God is always present tense. God is never unavailable. He is always there. That is why Jesus stated to the disciples, "I will never leave you. . ." He meant it for He is ever there — in resurrection presence.
Consequently, when carrying the yoke-cross with Jesus, one finds that He never leaves our sides. He is yoked to our very beings. When we do not realize Jesus, it is because we are detoured. We become distracted and so lapse in memory of His companionship.
To carry the cross, one wants to develop a lifestyle of understanding God-availability. Realize that your Friend is but a thought away. Immediately redirect your thought toward Jesus and you are in audience with Him. This moment, think on God and you have stepped into the holiness of heaven's throne.
Some have interpreted this verse of Paul to be a heavy command. It is not. It is an invitation to converse with your Lord minute-by-minute. It is keeping in constant rapport, even when in sleep, realizing that your God is still awake. He is attentive. That is why the Word states that He supplies your every need. The reason is due to the fact of His forever vigilance. God takes no time off. Such amplifies all the more the term "Father" in relation to deity. He is the perfectly attentive Parent.
When the cross becomes excessively burdensome, do not think you have to beg for Jesus' awareness of your problem. He is more aware than you are.
Consequently, cry upon Him, knowing that He sympathizes and so is carrying the heavier end of the beam. It may not seem that way in every minute you carry the cross. You may experience what Jesus Himself experienced when He felt as if the Father had forsaken him. But in finality, Father had not forsaken Jesus; it only seemed that way. And God has not forsaken you, though it may feel that way.
Reality is that God-availability is an expression of the nature of deity and therefore cannot be divorced from His essence. What He has stated Himself to be, He is. Therefore, by faith, take full advantage of God being near to you, then draw near to Him for He does care for you.
"My grace is sufficient for thee." II Corinthians l2:9
© Grant Swank
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