24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,
25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,
26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Christ is in us - and that has been made possible by the series of events that we commemorate during this Holy Week. Jesus died on a cross, according to the will of God, the execution of a perfect plan. He became the necessary, perfect sacrifice for our sins. And, He was raised from the dead so that we, by identifying with Him in His death and resurrection, can experience new life and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit - Christ in us, the One who works in our hearts to transform us and to express His nature through us.
+++++
The apostle Paul yearned to know Christ better, and he wrote in Philippians chapter 3:
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Last week, there were reports of a rather strange sighting in the Santa Monica Mountains in California. UPI.com reported that a piano appeared without explanation at a lookout point 2 miles from the nearest road.
Hikers and news helicopters captured images and video Thursday showing the piano, estimated to weigh at least 300 to 400 pounds, that was apparently placed late Wednesday or early Thursday at the Topanga Lookout, which is accessible by a 2-mile hike from the nearest road.
The piano was placed on the site of an old fire tower, which famously also once hosted a couch of similarly mysterious origins.
Indeed, He has risen. I believe that is irrefutable. There are those who have tried to discredit the story, and many will try today, but the evidence is too strong. And, this can give us great certainty as we share with others the good news of a Savior who died and rose again to free us from our sins. What might be a mystery to some becomes a reality to us who believe in Him.
Let's think together about another mystery that can be certified spiritually - the fact of the new birth. Because Jesus is risen, we can have new life in Him. By accepting Jesus as our Savior, we can experience a change, not of mind first, but of spirit, which results in the renewing of our minds and the transformation of our lives. Paul said in Colossians 1 that Christ in us is the hope of glory.
We live in a society that skews toward naturalism - there are occurrences that people will attempt to explain away. And, I believe we need to be sensitive to those seemingly unexplainable instances in our own lives and give credit where credit is due. We serve a God who deals in the supernatural and is working in a realm that we cannot comprehend. When we encounter those mysterious incidences in our lives, perhaps we can discern that the hand of God is at work. He will bring events to pass that we cannot explain naturally, that can only be credited to Him - we can be challenged to give Him the glory.
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Last week, there were reports of a rather strange sighting in the Santa Monica Mountains in California. UPI.com reported that a piano appeared without explanation at a lookout point 2 miles from the nearest road.
Hikers and news helicopters captured images and video Thursday showing the piano, estimated to weigh at least 300 to 400 pounds, that was apparently placed late Wednesday or early Thursday at the Topanga Lookout, which is accessible by a 2-mile hike from the nearest road.
The piano was placed on the site of an old fire tower, which famously also once hosted a couch of similarly mysterious origins.
Got to be a reason, right?
It turns out, according to MyFoxLA.com, that the piano was placed there by five guys who hauled the piano all the way to the top for a music video shoot. That's a 2-mile roundtrip hike with some elevation gain. The news source tracked down the group and said the haul took about 45 minutes. I will say it was an upright piano rather than a grand or baby grand, but still, it took quite an effort.
The piano on the mountain. Just another mystery that once looked unexplained, but was actually solved.
But, there's a seeming mystery that we as believers in Christ hold on to, a mystery that cannot be explained by natural logic or attributed by natural causes.
In a piece published on the Bible.ca website, Josh McDowell is quoted as saying:
A student at the University of Uruguay said to me. "Professor McDowell, why can't you refute Christianity?"
"For a very simple reason," I answered. "I am not able to explain away an event in history—the resurrection of Jesus Christ."He goes on to say:
How do you evaluate this overwhelming historical evidence? What is your decision about the fact of Christ's empty tomb? What do you think of Christ?
When I was confronted with the overwhelming evidence for Christ's resurrection, I had to ask the logical question: "What difference does all this evidence make to me? What difference does it make whether or not I believe Christ rose again and died on the cross for my sins!' The answer is put best by something Jesus said to a man who doubted—Thomas. Jesus told him: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6).There is powerful evidence for resurrection of Jesus Christ. And, the certainty of a living Lord can give us hope for our lives. Throughout the ages, there are those that have attempted to explain it away, yet the circumstances surrounding the empty tomb, and the tomb itself can provide powerful, persuasive evidence that Jesus is alive. Even the Scriptures say that there was a rumor that the disciples had attempted to steal away the body of Jesus, but He appeared numerous times after His resurrection. The eyewitnesses can tell a compelling story about the authenticity of Christ's post-resurrection appearances.
Indeed, He has risen. I believe that is irrefutable. There are those who have tried to discredit the story, and many will try today, but the evidence is too strong. And, this can give us great certainty as we share with others the good news of a Savior who died and rose again to free us from our sins. What might be a mystery to some becomes a reality to us who believe in Him.
Let's think together about another mystery that can be certified spiritually - the fact of the new birth. Because Jesus is risen, we can have new life in Him. By accepting Jesus as our Savior, we can experience a change, not of mind first, but of spirit, which results in the renewing of our minds and the transformation of our lives. Paul said in Colossians 1 that Christ in us is the hope of glory.
We live in a society that skews toward naturalism - there are occurrences that people will attempt to explain away. And, I believe we need to be sensitive to those seemingly unexplainable instances in our own lives and give credit where credit is due. We serve a God who deals in the supernatural and is working in a realm that we cannot comprehend. When we encounter those mysterious incidences in our lives, perhaps we can discern that the hand of God is at work. He will bring events to pass that we cannot explain naturally, that can only be credited to Him - we can be challenged to give Him the glory.
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