The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe
"The Power of An Endless Life"
"After the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life" (Hebrews 7:15-16).
We rightly and joyous think of the risen Lord Jesus Christ and the power that raised Him from the dead, never again to die.
"Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died once. But in that He liveth, He liveth unto God" (Romans 6:9-10).
We may not be so ready, however, to consider another scene of "the power of an endless life."
"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:11).
It does not always seem to be the case, either in appearance, or in how we think, feel, act, and relate to God and people. Nevertheless, it always is the case that the Spirit of the risen Lord Jesus dwells in us to serve as the very Life of our lives. God spiritually imparted "the power of an endless life" into our spirits when we trusted the Lord Jesus. Such presence and enabling makes possible our walk with God and the fruits of the Holy Spirit's living presence within us. The potential for trust and obedience abides within us forevermore. The actuality awaits our faith and submission to God and His truth. "Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).
No greater triumph can be known than the risen Christ leading and enabling us to live in a manner beyond our natural means. "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in every place" (II Corinthians 2:14). Conversely, no greater tragedy can be mourned than failure to avail ourselves of "so great salvation" supplied by so great a Savior (Hebrews 2:3). "He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief" (Matthew 13:58).
Our spiritual enemies well know this truth of Christ's empty tomb resulting in believers' full hearts, indwelt by His risen life. They have been bludgeoned so many times throughout the history of the church by such presence in God's people that they cannot fail to realize the danger they face through Christ and Christians. However, they have also too often been successful in tempting believers to ignore, forget, or disregard "the power of an endless life" that abides with and within us as all times. We can still live as if dead in our sins, and we all do at times (I John 1:8). Failure to avail ourselves of the boundless energy of the risen Christ within us, however, does not means that such grace has left us. It has not, nor will it ever. In times of failure, we may - and must - arise from the tragedy of unbelief unto the triumph of restoration and a renewed walk in the Life so abundant that "God is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Ephesians 3:20; emphasis added).
Wherever we may be along the path of righteousness, our spirits teem with "the power of an endless life." The Holy Spirit works within us to impart such grace to the entirety of our being whereby we may think, speak, act, and relate in ways that can only be explained as Christ yet again walking the earth, this time in His people as our risen Savior and life. Triumph awaits as we believe the Word of God that the Lord Jesus is risen from the dead, and the blessed grace whereby…
"Ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God."
(Colossians 2:12)
"If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that hath raised Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you."
(Romans 6:9-10)
Weekly Memory Verse
He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. (Matthew 13:58).
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