Element Church Insider

Matthew 28:  God is ALIVE

This is the last day of our 28 day journey through Matthew and through praying for our city.  I can’t think of a better way to end our 28 days than with this GREAT reminder about God.

Matthew 28:5 says  ⁵The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.

Jesus WAS crucified.  He is NOT dead any longer.  He is ALIVE!  God is ALIVE!  That should change us.  That should rally us.  Encourage and inspire us.  Our God is NOT in a grave, or bound to a book.  He is NOT just a story!  Our God IS ALIVE!

He’s ALIVE!  He is with you where you are, He is ahead of where you are going and He has FORGOTTEN your forgiven past.  He is ALIVE!

This Truth is THE MOST IMPORTANT Truth of our Christian faith.  God’s not dead, He’s ALIVE!  Live like it!

Living because HE’s ALIVE,

Jeff

Matthew 27:  God is REVOLUTIONARY

Whenever I get to the Gospels in my Bible reading, and whenever I read the crucifixion story in Matthew 27 a smile comes across my face.  I smile when I see ONE word in Matthew 27 and think about the implications of what was happening.

Matthew 27:38  Two revolutionaries^[i] were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. (NLT)

EVERY TIME I read that I say in my head “So, there were three revolutionaries crucified that day right?”

Jesus was a REVOLUTIONARY!  Think of the things Jesus did that were COUNTER religion and COUNTER culture.  The leaders thought they were ending a small cult following by killing Jesus.  What they were doing was multiplying the REVOLUTION.

Touching the leper.  REVOLUTIONARY!

Eating with sinners.  REVOLUTIONARY!

Serving as the leader.  REVOLUTIONARY!

Teaching on love, grace, forgiveness, mercy…REVOLUTIONARY!

Calling out sin AND calling sinners to overcome.  REVOLUTIONARY!

Dying for His followers.  REVOLUTIONARY!

Congquering death, the grave and hell.  REVOLUTIONARY!

The veil was torn in two.  The old system was done and the new system in place.  An age of grace and the Holy Spirit now reigns.  EVERYTHING changed with Jesus…because Jesus is REVOLUTIONARY!  If Jesus is revolutionary, shouldn’t His church be as well?

Following the revolution,

Jeff

Matthew 26:  God COULD…

But sometimes He doesn’t.  God can do ANYTHING He wishes.  He’s God.  As Francis Chan said in his One Prayer message “You may not like the way God does things.  You might have a ‘better’ way, but you don’t have a universe.”  GOD DOES.  And He MADE it.  He can do ANYTHING.  But even though He COULD he doesn’t ALWAYS do what He can.

In Matthew 26, Jesus is betrayed by his close friend Judas, then He is arrested.  When arrested, Peter tries to slash one of the guards with a sword.  Jesus reprimands him and says in Matthew 26:52-54  ⁵² “Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³ Don’t you realize that I COULD ask my Father for thousands^[h] of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? ⁵⁴BUT IF I DID, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”

“Peter, I COULD…but if I did…”  Peter had to be thinking, “If you CAN, why don’t you?”

Don’t we ask that?  “Lord, if you CAN heal me why don’t you?”  “Lord if you COULD have stopped mom from dying…”  “If you CAN get me that job…”  “If you COULD provide this…” “If you COULD do that…”

I think many times we might be missing the voice of God saying “Jeff, I COULD…but if I did…”  “I COULD fix that problem, but if I did THIS better thing wouldn’t happen.”  Did Peter realize that IF Christ had done what He COULD, PETER’S sin wouldn’t have been paid for on the cross?  The cross HAD to happen. And for the cross to happen, the God that COULD had to NOT!

I want to be able to trust God in ALL of life’s situations, knowing that He COULD, but also trusting in the “but if”.

Trusting,

Jeff

Matthew 24:  God is COMING

Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib, Post-Trib.  Millinial.  Rapture.  Wrath.  Tribulation.  Anti-Christ.  The mark of the beast.  One world government.  Wars and rumors of wars.  Persecution.  Famine, disease and pestilence.

All those things are issues concerning the end of time that we argue about.  Should we study end times?  ABSOLUTELY.  The book of Revelation and the supporting Scriptures THROUGHOUT the Bible should NOT be avoided and SHOULD be studied diligently.  We should form an opinion concerning the end.  We need to know the Truth about the tribulation, the rapture, the anti-christ and the end times.  BUT… I wonder if in the midst of ALL our debating over the things of the end we have forgotten the greatest part about it.

Whether you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, mid-trib or post-trib, we all believe the same thing is going to happen.  Christ is COMING!  He is COMING!  Do we realize that?  THAT my friends, is a Truth that offers hope.  Christ went to prepare a place for us…and if He went, HE WILL RETURN (John 14).

In Matthew 24 Jesus says this “And they will see the Son of Man COMING on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

I LOVE studying end times and prophecy.  I have my own opinion about the end, and it is a strong one.  But I always say this.  “I don’t think God is so concerned with us being RIGHT about the details concerning His return.  Ultimately, I really think God just wants us ALL to be READY because He IS COMING.”  I need to be ready for His return NOW, because He is COMING!  I need to be ready to face persecution if need be, for He is COMING!  I need to be ready to go through WHATEVER I may go through (pre, mid or post tribulation) for HE IS COMING!

What if He came today?  What if He came after the tribulation?  What if He doesn’t do it the way I think He will?  Will I be ready?  You better be.  He is COMING!

Ready,

Jeff