Take the Red Pill of Jesus’s Resurrection

Based on Matthew 28:2–15; Mark 16:1–8 (9-18); Luke 24:1–12; John 20:2-18

Over the past Christmas holiday, Hollywood released a movie called Matrix Resurrections, a reboot of a movie trilogy which began in 1999. Somehow, both main characters who were killed off at the end of the trilogy are brought back to life (not because it makes sense but because the producers undoubtedly thought it would make more money from the franchise).

By no means is this movie series a Christian saga, but it is interesting to think about the movie’s plot: that this world is an illusion and that there is a greater reality beyond this world. But in an infinitely greater spiritual sense, there is indeed a greater reality then this present age and world (1 Timothy 6:17, 2 Timothy 4:10).

If you have been reading this as designed, then today is Good Friday, a day dark in church history in despair, marking the day in which Jesus Christ died. Today’s reading, however, reminds us that when things seem utterly dark, a resurrection is on the horizon. Or as one person said, “It may seem like Friday night, but Sunday’s on the way.”

Some of the darkest funerals we have experienced over the last couple of years have been those who were young and in the prime of life. All deaths are hard, but burying a child or grandchild is especially tough.

Today’s reading merges the four very different accounts of the resurrection together. You would think that the gospel writers would have collaborated a little more to make the resurrection story a little more coherent and a little more believable.

But the differences in the four gospels make them more believable. The heroes of the story (the disciples) are all doubters is not very flattering to their faith. Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene and then to the other women the morning of the Resurrection before going to His disciples also appears curious if it wasn’t true. Surely, the authors of these resurrection gospels could have made it a little more “believable” to a male-dominated, patriarchal society like first century Judaism.

John’s account is tender, but different than the other gospels. The open-endedness of Mark’s gospel of “the women leaving the tomb, saying nothing because they were afraid,” certainly begs for a better closure than this! It’s bleak and sudden ending probably prompted some to add more verses to make Mark more in harmony with the other gospels. Matthew and Luke are a little more similar, but even these have some glaring differences in the resurrection accounts, most notably that Matthew states the Jesus appears to all the women who went to the tomb, but Luke does not. But the truth from the events flows without contradiction.

There is even something more mysterious than these things: For something as important as the resurrection of Jesus, why does God not make it more…I want to find a better word than “believable” but I can’t. We are talking about eternal life, not just for Jesus, but also for ourselves. Heaven and hell are literally on the line, and we are having to trust the Almighty on this with less than stellar evidence?

I suppose we will have to wait until we get to Heaven to let the Almighty know how we may “disagree” with how He handled the “story line” of this world’s “reality”. It is indeed His Story to tell! Unlike the movie Matrix, however, God’s reason for His Son’s resurrection was not to make a buck, but to give us an eternity to spend with Him, if for no other reason, just to learn more about His reality.

 Our Father in Heaven, we recognize that You are the Author and Perfector of our faith. As this world’s history unfolds, we see more and more that this is indeed Your story to tell, and You indeed are the Masterful Story Teller. Thank You for plot twists and surprises that keep us ever dependent upon You.

--By Tim McKeown

I Was Saved, I Am Being Saved, I Shall Be Saved

Based on Matthew 26:26–29; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:14–23; John 13:22–30

At First Baptist Church of Killeen, we try to have Communion or Lord’s Supper about every two months. Other churches have it weekly, while others have it quarterly. There is a past, present, and future part of Communion or more commonly called the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a special act of worship that represents a wonderful spiritual truth for believers.

What does Communion mean?

I really like the word “communion”. It reminds us of our “common union” that we have together with one another and also with Jesus. Paul used this word in 1 Corinthians 10:16, saying, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?”. There’s the common union we have with Christ. The very next verse says, “For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread,” (1 Corinthians 10:17).

Elsewhere, that word is translated as fellowship. We have fellowship with each other and with Christ every time we take the Lord’s Supper.

Before we take Communion, we are supposed to be restored to our brothers and sisters. Paul rebuked the Corinthian church because while they came together for the Lord’s Supper, they were not there in “fellowship” with each other or “communion”. He wrote, “When you come together, it’s not for better but it is actually for the worse. I hear that there are divisions among you, and I believe it,” (1 Corinthians 11:17-18)

What does Communion show?

In observing this memorial, we see the three aspects of our salvation: Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification.

We see justification, or the fact that we have been forgiven of our sins by Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. Jesus said, “This is My body” and “This is My blood”. By His sacrificial death, we have been made right with God, by the forgiveness of our sins. As a result, we “proclaim His death” every time we observe the Lord’s Supper.

Secondly, “as often as we eat and drink” the Lord’s Supper, we see our sanctification, or God’s setting us apart to be dedicated to the work of service. That is why we are called to examine ourselves prior to partaking. Every time that we eat the bread and drink the cup, we should be seeking to be more like Christ than we were the previous time.

Thirdly, we are to observe the Lord’s Supper “until He comes.” Jesus promised that He would not eat or drink of it, until the kingdom of God comes. We are looking forward eating with Christ at “the Marriage Supper of the Lamb” in our glorified, sinless, and perfected bodies in Heaven someday (Revelation 19:9). That will be our glorification.

In the Lord’s Supper we remember we were saved (Justification), that we are being saved (Sanctification) and that we someday will be ultimately saved (Glorification).

Lord Jesus, how I wish I could have been with You at the Last Supper and how happy I am that I will be with you and the Lamb’s Supper. Until then, wash my feet. Take away the dirt of this world that cakes between my toes and causes a stench to our spirits. Until then, keep me from betraying You, from denying You. You gave thanks for the cup.

Jesus Heals the Blind and the Blind Spots

From 50 Days of Devotionals through the Chronological Harmony of the Gospels 

     A few months ago, I once again became a member of the “Truck Club”. I bought a 2015 Dodge Ram. My two previous trucks had been Chevy trucks but neither had an extended cab and neither had a huge blind spot. Several times, cars coming up on my right have surprised me. I went out the first week and bought two little oval “fish-eye” mirrors to help me see, but the new mirrors are still in the cab. And thus, my blind spot remains.

     I thought about my blind spots in my truck when I read today’s passage. Little places (and some not so little) where sins lurk just beside me, ready to sneak up and suddenly pounce on me.

     John Newton had a severe blind spot. He was totally blind spiritually in his younger years, serving as a captain of a slave ship and then even after his salvation, maintaining a financial interest in the slave shipping business.

     It’s ironic, but not uncommon, for people to commit sins of which they themselves were once a victim. Newton had been forced into naval service, but that was not his enslavement. He tried to desert from the Royal Navy and as punishment he was flogged with 96 lashes, but that was not his greatest hardship.

     For three years, Newton was owned, humiliated, and abused by Princess Peye in west Africa, describing this period as being a “slave of slaves”. He was finally rescued, and on his trip home, a severe storm caused him to cry out to God. He made it back to England, accepted Christian principles, changed somewhat in his lifestyle, and began reading the Bible. But Newton would say later, he was not a “full believer” yet.

     In John chapter 9, the man born blind was instantly healed by Jesus. But other times, the blind were healed progressively (see Day 19, Mark 8:22-26). Some were healed by Jesus spitting a clay mixture like today’s reading, other times, just by spitting in their eyes, and still others He simply touched them (Day 16).

     But there were some types of blindness Jesus did not heal: those who were spiritually blind and would not admit it. I think about my own blind spots (not those on my truck!): tender spots perhaps from past hurts that haven’t totally healed. Past sins of which God has forgiven me, but I have not forgiven myself, at least not totally.

     Jesus often asked the blind and lame what they wanted done for them. Even today, some would rather stare into darkness and keep their sin than be released. Others receive their sight, but, like Newton, refuse to release those who are trapped in the same slavery which once held them.

     Within Newton’s most famous hymn, Amazing Grace, he penned the words, “I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.” It took Newton years to quit the slavery business and decades to speak out against it. But when he did, he along with William Wilberforce, finally accomplished that wicked sin’s abolition in England in 1807. Newton died in December that same year.

     A lesser known but equally powerful quote from Newton came during his latter years of advanced age, when he did not always recognize people nor remember things. During this time he said:

 

“Although my memory’s fading, I remember two things very clearly:

I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.”

     Today’s passage concludes with Jesus’s statement, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty; but since you insist, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.” In other words, “You cannot heal a wound by simply saying, ‘It isn’t there.’”

     Lord Jesus, thank You for healing the blindness of my sin. But I admit, my blind spots still trip me up. Like head checks when driving, remind me to do heart checks in my spirit, confessing and forsaking my sins to keep me from crashing. Thank You for Your amazing grace and for being a great Savior.

Climbing the Steps of the Beatitudes

From 50 Days of Devotionals through the Chronological Harmony of the Gospels 

      In 2014, members of FBC Killeen went to Israel and one of the greatest thrills for me was to teach a study on the Beatitudes while physically standing on the Mount of the Beatitudes!

     When your read through the first few verses of Matthew 5, you can feel a crescendo of thoughts as Jesus guides us through the various “Blessed are” statements, also translated as “happy”. The blessed statements are like a stairway of sanctification, each step leading to a higher calling in spiritual growth.

     First, we see we are blessed when we are impoverished in our own spirit. For us to die to self and live to God is the first step of salvation and in the stairway of becoming more Christ-like. Our reward for humbling ourselves, Jesus said is the Kingdom of heaven, our eternal reward both for now and all eternity!

     Second, we find a marvelous contradiction: To be happy, we must mourn! When we look at how we’ve failed God, how our sins have hurt us, others, and even God, we climb higher in our spiritual growth, because our mourning leads us to repentance and also we receive comfort from God’s own Spirit.

     Our third step is being meek, and while it rhymes with “weak”, they are vastly different. When we are meek, we are strong, stable, teachable, and kind! Our reward is the Earth for our inheritance. Look at Psalm 37:11 and we see both Testaments state that God rewards the meek physically, not just spiritually.

     Next is a hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness! Our yearning is for God to declare us to be in right-standing with Him. When God declares us to be righteous, we no longer thirst or hunger to justify ourselves. God satisfies our longings with His filling, His fulness.

     We climb the fifth step to being merciful and receiving mercy. Jesus gave a marvelous story about a man who was shown mercy, but unable to give mercy to someone else. Mercy is more than forgiveness, and it is different than grace. Grace is receiving what we don’t deserve, but mercy is not getting the judgment we do deserve. And being merciful means that we release others from our biased standards for perfection.

     The sixth beatitude is purity in heart and the reward is seeing God. A sinful heart does not want to see God! It shrinks from holiness in fear and trembling. But a pure heart longs to see Him face to face, and one day that will be our reward.

     On our seventh step, we go from purity to peace-making. No, we’re not talking about a quiet prayer for world peace. That will never be long-lasting. The peacemakers of this beatitude make eternal peace between sinful humanity and a holy God. When we bring the good news of peace with God, we are called “children of God”; we bear His image and His inheritance!

     Finally, we reach the eighth and final step in the beautiful beatitude staircase! This beatitude takes three verses to describe this final and greatest pinnacle of all the “happy blessings”. And it is? Persecution! And its reward? The same as on the first step, the Kingdom of Heaven! Is this confusing? Not at all. Nothing is more foundational to begin our journey, nor inspirational along the way, nor aspirational to end our ascent than the Kingdom of Heaven. And climbing the beatitudes is worth every step!

 Lord Jesus, we praise You for giving us direction on how to live. In these eight steps of life, we aspire to live higher and more noble lives for Your glory. Let us climb higher by humbling ourselves in Your ways. In Jesus’s Name, we pray. Amen.

--By Tim McKeown

(see more at bit.ly/FBCKBeatitudes)

Good things come in small packages

From 50 Days of Devotionals through the Chronological Harmony of the Gospels 

 Based on Luke 1:57–80; Matthew 1:18–25; Luke 2:1-20; Luke 2:21–39

“If I had known how fun grandkids were,” say umpteen number of grandparents, “I would have had them first!”

Well, nothing like playing the part of Zechariah that makes me want to do a character study on the father of John the Baptizer! And I can just imagine how elated he was to have a child after all of those years (no comment about how un-elated Elizabeth might have been about having a child at her age!).

But something about age and realizing what is really important in life makes me think that Zechariah was a great dad. After all, he and Elizabeth raised a child whom Jesus Christ said, “there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptizer.”

This past Christmas someone posted on Facebook the question, “What is your least favorite Christmas song?” and “Mary Did You Know?” made someone’s least liked list! Of course, Mary knew (Michael the angel and getting with child without ever “knowing a man” was of course some of her first clues!)

And yet, did they really know just how important John and Jesus would grow up to be? Did the shepherds really understand just who that was in the manger? Did Simeon understand that his eyes were seeing the hands who would give sight to the blind? God had promised him he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah and now there He was in his arms. Even though Anna was a prophetess, she surely could not fully comprehend that the eight-day old Christ child would be the redemption for whom the 84-year-old widow had been waiting.

Could Mary and Joseph and Zechariah and Elizabeth even imagine in their wildest dreams that we would be here, more than 2,000 years later, still talking about those precious little boys.

But walk down to the nursery sometime and please volunteer to serve there, and when you do, ask yourself, “Do you know who and what these little children are going to grow up to be?”

 What a pleasure it is to watch kids grow up in our church! Little Elizabeth Harlow came running up to me the other night at full speed, and I gathered her up in my arms, loving on her but missing my own little precious daughters who have now all grown up.

One last thought: Some children will indeed be a sword that will pierce our souls. How can we not do all that we can do to help make sure these children grow up to be saved and equipped for bringing the love of God for generations to come.

Good things can be found in little packages indeed and they are all bundled up down the hall in our nursery, in the children’s and youth wings of our church, and in our children and grandchildren, our nieces and nephews, in Good News Clubs at our schools and in our ministries like Compassion International. Virtually everywhere we look, we can see priceless presents in little packages for the future. 

Father in Heaven. Thank you that we can call you Father. Help us to be ever mindful of the precious cargo we hold in our hands, in our hearts, and in the halls of our churches and schools. Open our eyes to see the light in them that Simeon and Anna saw in Jesus. Amen.

When our lives are scarred, healing comes when placed into hands scarred by love from hammered nails.

When the painful past darkens the path ahead, follow the wounded feet that bore the weight of sins that were not His own.

When our hearts are loaded from griefs of shame, trust the pierced heart from which flowed cleansing water and blood, drained by death to give new life.

Scars are not mere signs of a wounded past but stories to show we have been healed.

See Isaiah 51:3-19

Binding the Strongholds, pt. 2

     There is more to binding the strongholds than can be said in these two devotionals, but some steps yesterday and today are basic, crucial and foundational. You will never bind a stronghold of Satan if you do not recognize, read, resist and spiritually arm yourself for the battle (see part 1).

    What are spiritual weapons?

    1. First, Discern the battleground. Discernment in your spirit as to whether this is a test from God, a temptation from Satan, or a trial from everyday life. Temptations from the devil is a battlefield that needs utmost discernment. That is one of the reasons why Jesus asked legion what his name was, and then found out that it was a host of many demons. You may think your "demon" is alcohol, but it may have a root in a host of underlying issues.

    2. Solidify your foundation. As we have been looking at all this week, make sure you are not only hearing the word of God, but heeding it. Is there any area of your life that the floods are knocking you off of your foundation of obedience. True we are not saved by works, but we are saved to work (Eph. 2:10, Titus 3:5). The floods that come up in life can be devastating. The word floods used here is actually a word which can be translated as river or stream but is also used as dangerous torrents of rushing and rising rivers. We’ve seen torrential rivers here in Texas. Satan can issue out a powerfully raging river. But we Christians have weapons of fighting that flood of temptation.
     Paul said to not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:21). Live godly and it will have a mighty offense to the evil. The power of the blood of the Lamb and a good testimony of works and obedience is a lethal combination (Rev. 12:11). 

     3. Identify which weapons are needed. Look at 2 Corinthians 10 in context.
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
      Now this is an entire sermon (more likely a seminar!) by itself but if you want to have a strong Christian home, you must first have a foundation of faithful obedience, but also have a firm foundation of fighting in the spirit and not in the flesh. Paul says our warfare is not carnal, not fleshly, not merely human, but it is mighty, dynatos, from the dunamis power word from which we get dynamite.
     Satan is going to flood you with Temptations, but the Holy Spirit is going to enable you to fight in the flesh but with supernatural dynatos weapons. Casting down ARGUMENTS or IMAGINATIONS or even LOGISTICS.
     In other words, when you fight in the flesh, with carnal earthly human weapons, it may make sense, but you are going to lose. BUT when you fight with supernatural mighty dynatos weapons in the spirit, it may not make sense but you are going to WIN.
     Every high thing that exalts itself. In other words, the enemy of temptation will look big, it exalts itself but when it stands up to the knowledge that intimate relationship and understand and familiarity of and with and for God, it will be puny in comparison.

 
     4.  Release the nuclear option of prayer and fasting (Ps. 35:13). When the disciples could not cast out the demon from the boy when Jesus was on the mountain of transfiguration, He said that they should have prayed and fasted (Matt. 17:21, Mark 9:29). Every weapon and defeat from the enemy should be confronted with prayer, but there are strongholds that especially need much prayer and fasting (1 Cor. 7:5). Daniel fasted and prayed and the spiritual warfare lasted for weeks (Daniel 9:3, 10:13). Jesus was gone for three days and the disciples should have know that when the Master was away, or when answers delay, the disciples should fast and pray (Matt. 9:15; Acts 13:3, 14:23; 2 Cor. 11:27). 

     5. Finally, don’t give up gained ground. Soldiers despise winning a battle, only to have it regained by the enemy, who will entrench themselves even deeper to keep out the previous victors. Jesus gave the illustration in Matt. 12:22-30 of binding the strongman’s house. Once the strongman was overtaken, he left for a while and came back with a stronger force, and finding the house empty and vacant, he overcame it.
       Have you gained a victory over a stronghold? Don’t be prideful and definitely don’t leave your house empty or the last stronghold will be worse than the first (Luke 11:26). Replace whatever stronghold with something even more powerful and occupy that vacancy. 1 Pet. 2:20 says, “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.”
     If you are putting your faith in anything other than the spiritual weapons God gives, the enemy will only make a mockery of the things you are trusting in. “But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.”