The Walking Dead? Pt 2
Part 2
When a dead man’s body was quickly tossed into the same grave as Elisha’s bones, the dead man immediately came to life, stood up and walked out of the cave-grave.
It’s a fascinating two-verse story found in 2 Kings 13:20-21.
Last week I mentioned that we can learn three important things from this little story. See last week’s blog for the first two. We’ll end the story with this final thought that we can apply to our lives.
Thing #3: God is using this truth to awaken US today!
Think about it: Have you ever made a dead man come alive?
Each one of us who have a genuine relationship with Christ should be reflecting His Spirit in our lives so much so that when non-believers come in contact with us, they can see Christ exemplified.
Are we seriously walking in the power of the Holy Spirit?
Are we bringing others into the knowledge of the resurrecting power of Christ?
Christ is still raising the dead.
And I’m convinced He wants to raise the spiritually dead people—who come in contact with us—to life in Him.
Thoughts?
I’m speaking in Fairfield, OH this weekend.
It’s connected to Cincinnati. Thank you in advance for your prayers of God’s blessing and ministry!
The Walking Dead?
It’s an interesting story.
After Elisha the prophet was buried (and a few years had gone by), some Israelites were burying a man but noticed a gang of raiders quickly approaching. Knowing time was short, they quickly tossed the dead man’s body inside the tomb of Elisha and ran for safety.
(You can read the story in 2 Kings 13:20-21.)
The body of the dead man touched Elisha’s bones . . .
and that’s where this little two-verse story takes a fascinating turn!
As soon as dead body touched Elisha’s bones,
the dead man
immediately
came to life!
Coffins weren’t used by the Jews.
And the graves of the Jews weren’t holes dug in the ground
like those found in our modern-day cemeteries.
Dead bodies were usually tossed into caves—
and the mouth of the cave was shut by a large stone.
What can this interesting little story teach us?
Three things:
Thing #1: Through giving life to the dead body through Elisha’s bones, God confirmed the authority and ministry He had given Elisha. We hope those who witnessed this miracle embraced
Elisha’s faith in God.
God had promised Elisha that He would give him a
“double portion” of the power that He had given to Elijah.
This final miracle fulfilled the promise of the “double portion.”
Thing #2: This story also shows us that by Christ’s
death and burial, Christians can view the grave as a calm
and peaceful passage to eternal life.
We don’t need to fear death.
We will live forever with Christ.
And Thing #3? Ahhhh. That’s coming next week!
Thoughts?
I’m speaking in Nixa, MO.
Thanks so much for your much-appreciated prayers!
What Is God’s Will?
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who
does the will of my Father
who is in heaven”
(Matthew 7:21 NIV).
Jesus clearly says in the above Scripture
that unless we’re doing the will of Father God,
we won’t enter the Kingdom.
The will of Father God is holiness.
And the only way we can live it is through His Spirit.
This is done by
total surrender to Him.
Giving up control of our lives.
Letting Him reign in every area.
We need to remember that the people Jesus was speaking to
in Matthew 7:21 were the religious.
In today’s terms—
they were the church-goers,
the ones participating on mission trips,
the ones who loved the praise and worship.
They were very, very good people.
But they weren’t on the narrow road
that Jesus talks about in the next two lines of Scripture.
And what’s frightening?
They didn’t even know they weren’t on the narrow road!
I don’t want to be one of those people.
That’s why I need to pray this daily:
“Investigate my life, O God,
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
then guide me on the road to eternal life”
(Psalm 139:23-24 The Message).
Thoughts?
I’m speaking in Decatur, Ill., this weekend.
Will you pray for me?