The ‘Dead Person’ Problem
Read The Daily:
Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins— Ephesians 2:1
Most of the my church friends that I talk to, often think the problem is that we’re just *distracted* or maybe *disappointing* God. We think, ‘If only I could focus more, if only I tried harder, then I’d be okay.’ But what if that’s not the real issue? What if the real issue, biblically speaking, is that we were *dead*. Not just distracted, but spiritually dead. You can’t motivate a dead person; they need resurrection.
Think about how different this is from the self-help message we often hear. We’re told to improve, to fix ourselves, to climb out of the hole we’re in. But if we’re truly ‘dead’ in our sins, no amount of self-improvement is going to bring us back to life. It’s like trying to get a corpse to run a marathon. It’s not about motivation; it’s about a complete transformation, a new life.
And that’s the good news, right? Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good; He came to take dead people and give them new life. It’s not about our effort; it’s about His power. When we accept that gift, when we receive that resurrection life, then we’re actually equipped to do the good things He planned. It’s a reminder that our ability to live for God doesn’t come from us, but from the new life He gives.
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Prayer for the Day
God what are you showing me? What am I going to do about it?
God help me to see one person that I can serve through a kind word, random act of kindness, or simple gift today?
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Read The New Testament In A Year
Jesus now called the Twelve and gave them authority and power to deal with all the demons and cure diseases. He commissioned them to preach the news of God’s kingdom and heal the sick. He said, “Don’t load yourselves up with equipment. Keep it simple; you are the equipment. And no luxury inns–get a modest place and be content there until you leave. If you’re not welcomed, leave town. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and move on.” Commissioned, they left. They traveled from town to town telling the latest news of God, the Message, and curing people everywhere they went. Herod, the ruler, heard of these goings on and didn’t know what to think. There were people saying John had come back from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, still others that some prophet of long ago had shown up. Herod said, “But I killed John–took off his head. So who is this that I keep hearing about?” Curious, he looked for a chance to see him in action. The apostles returned and reported on what they had done. Jesus took them away, off by themselves, near the town called Bethsaida. But the crowds got wind of it and followed. Jesus graciously welcomed them and talked to them about the kingdom of God. Those who needed healing, he healed. As the day declined, the Twelve said, “Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the farms or villages around here and get a room for the night and a bite to eat. We’re out in the middle of nowhere.” “You feed them,” Jesus said. They said, “We couldn’t scrape up more than five loaves of bread and a couple of fish–unless, of course, you want us to go to town ourselves and buy food for everybody.” Luke 9:1-13
Bright as that old government was, it would look downright dull alongside this new one. If that makeshift arrangement impressed us, how much more this brightly shining government installed for eternity? With that kind of hope to excite us, nothing holds us back. Unlike Moses, we have nothing to hide. Everything is out in the open with us. He wore a veil so the children of Israel wouldn’t notice that the glory was fading away– and they didn’t notice. They didn’t notice it then and they don’t notice it now, don’t notice that there’s nothing left behind that veil. Even today when the proclamations of that old, bankrupt government are read out, they can’t see through it. Only Christ can get rid of the veil so they can see for themselves that there’s nothing there. Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are–face to face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him. 2 Corinthians 3:10-18