If you're not familiar with the story of how God made a covenant with Abram, I would recommend that you go back to the Old Testament and read about Abram and Sarai - Genesis chapters 12, 15, 17 and 18 to understand some of the background.
The story is one of impossibilities! As the angel of the Lord explains God's plan to Abram, he says in Genesis 18:14:
"Is anything too hard for the Lord?"God had already told Abram back in Genesis 12:3:
"I will bless those who bless you. And I will curse him who curses you. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."Genesis 17:1-6 expands on this when the Lord comes to change Abram's name to Abraham, meaning the father of multitudes. In verse 4 He says:
"As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations."
But there was a problem! Abram was 100 and Sarai was 90, both long past the age of childbearing. Sarai took things into her own hands and had a child via her handmaiden. But God made it very clear that this promise of a multitude of descendants was to come through Abraham and Sarah, not any other way!
And God was true to His word and Isaac was born in their old age. He was the son of the promise.
In the New Testament, Paul explains to the Romans, the mystery of faith. Even though the law was given to the Jewish people, salvation by grace through faith has been given to all people, both Jews and Gentiles. It always has been and always will be. Romans chapter 4 goes into detail, explaining all of this. But it is summarized in verses 16 and 17:
"Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, 'I have made you a father of many nations') in the presence of him whom he believed -- God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as through they did."So we come to Easter! It's a story filled with the impossible.
And as I was running 10 km (in my backyard) this morning, I was contemplating the awesomeness of the Resurrection.
It's a case of "God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did." (Romans 4:17)
But the Resurrection isn't the only IMPOSSIBLE part of this story! It goes far beyond this.
The real impossibility is that Jesus would willingly lay down his life to pay the debt each one of us owed because of our sin and rebellion against God. No one took it from him. If He had wanted to, He could have called down a legion of angels to rescue Him from the cross.
Romans 5:6-8 explains it this way:
"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."When God raised Jesus from the grave, He once and for all vanquished both death and the fear of death. Ephesians 2 tells us that the same power God used to raise Jesus from the dead is the same power He has made available to us. Because He lives, we can have eternal life. All we have to do is believe - just like Abraham believed so long ago.
In Ephesians 2:8 and 9, the apostle Paul explains it this way:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."So my question is - what are you going to do with the cross and with the Resurrection? This is God's impossible love story written to you. Are you listening?
Blessings,
Sharon Reece
Queen of Excuses
P.S. If you have believed as a result of what I've written, I'd love to know about it. You can contact me in the comments or find me on Facebook, where I am SharonReece1.
P.P.S. If you have a Kingdom mentality and would love to work with a team that also has a Kingdom vision, please check out this link: click here! We'd love to have you join us.
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