"For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth." ~ Deuteronomy14:2

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Pleasant Stone Devotional Meditation: March 15

"In the midst of life we are constantly handed over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may yet be evidenced through our mortal flesh" ~ 2 Corinthians 4:11, 12, Berkeley.
In the midst of life we are constantly handed over to death for Jesus' sake, so that His life may show through us. God's own life right in our mortal flesh. "Always bearing about in the body dying of the Lord Jesus," so that His life may show through our daily lives. None of this is for worship services only. It is for right now. Just before you begin to do what it is that you must do --- now. On this date. "In the midst of life." In the midst perhaps of a strong, nerve-tearing temptation. Right in the midst of your present circumstance, you may be "constantly handed over to death for Jesus' sake," so that His life will be evident in your life. Right while this difficult thing is going on. He has already died to give us the power to bear about in our body the "dying." If this sounds gruesome and too hard to you, ask the Holy Spirit for a better look at the inside of the heart that broke on Calvary. If He had fought the Cross --- if He had rebelled as perhaps you are rebelling now, He could not have saved you. He could not have saved me [Eugenia Price, the author]. But He just died and blessed His murderers as they killed Him. And by that act, the power that is of God can flow into you now, as His life flows into you. Power for your "dying" to this rebellion, this temptation to say, "This is too much!" There is no such thing as too much temptation for the crucified and the risen follower of the crucified and risen Jesus. All the power required to resist it is right there in your "earthen vessel," and it is the power of God. You are free just as soon as you agree to partake of His death and His resurrection. We are free when we die. Then He can raise us up. And fill us with His power. And we can shout:
"From henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."

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