X Stands For... -- Brenda J. Wood

Do you remember your A-B-C’s? You know, the traditional A is for apple; B is for baby and so on. I wondered if there could be a Christian version. Strong’s Concordance supplied the following: 

A-Adopted         B-Blessed         C-Conquering          D-Delivered  

E-Established     F-Free               G-Graced                H-Healed     

I-Inheritor          J-Justified          K-Known                L-Loved M-Ministering 

N-Named           O-Over comer   P-Precious              Q-Quickened  

R-Redeemed      S-Saved             T-Transformed        U-Upright      

V-Valued           W-Wanted          Y-Yielded  

X-                      Z-Zealous 

There’s no X word in an English Bible, but in the Greek, it’s Xpioros, or Christos, meaning anointed, Messiah, an epithet of Jesus Christ.

The Dictionary says X stands for Christ as in Xn (Christian) and Xmas (Christmas).  X also stands for the algebra unknowns we fought  in math class. We may wish to have or be everything in this new alphabet version but without X, the Christ, it’s impossible.

Where is the X, the Christ in our lives? Is He  X, the unknown?

 X, the Christ, a shortcut to what we want?

Or is He X, the crucified Christ, raised from the dead and our personal Saviour? 

John 6:69: And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God (KJV)

Prayer: Father, thanks for X, the known Christ!  Amen.

Brenda J Wood, author & speaker
The Pregnant Pause of Grief, the first trimester of widowhood
http://heartfeltdevotionals.com
www.facebook.com/brendawoodspeaker

Alive Again - Linda Aleta Tame

  Alive Again 

To rise up at dawn

hear meadow lark

emerge from shadow

recall a song

recover the lost

To see the sunrise

& spring grasses

the smell of fresh rain

early blossoms

trees verdant budding

To breathe the Spirit

expand the heart

be embraced in love

quickened with life

A Living Saviour

 

 
 "My beloved spoke and said to me, 'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.'" Song of Songs 2:10-11 (NIV)




 

Resurrection by Bryan Norford

There are many animals I would rather not be, and the caterpillar is top of the list. It’s a decidedly grubby life, and a place of distinct vulnerability. But on consideration, it seems not much different than our life on earth.

What the caterpillar does have over and above the other creepers and crawlers of the earth is the change that is genetically built in: the metamorphosis into the butterfly. Both states, in ability and beauty can hardly be reconciled in one creature.

The caterpillar is a non-biblical example of the life, death and resurrection each new spring brings us. But Jesus specifically portrays the death of a seed that brings new life (John 12:24), and Paul the bulb that provides the flower (1 Corinthians 15:37–38).

What I find interesting are the ideas of beauty and recognition that run through these examples. The few of us who exhibit earthly beauty will be transformed into immensely greater beauty measured by the difference of the caterpillar and bulb with the butterfly and the flower.

Even those of us of lesser beauty will all be an accurate reflection of the beauty of God. But as the gardener knows the flower that will come from the seed, and the naturalist knows the butterfly that comes from the caterpillar, we will be recognisable within the new beauty.

But in all these things, Jesus Christ is the centre, and is always the centre. His resurrection is essential to the Christian faith, for it confirms Gods acceptance of the redemption gained for us at the cross. Thus His resurrection ensures ours.

So every fresh bud, each new butterfly, all signs of new life, point to the reality of resurrection. they reinforce our belief that resurrection is God’s design, not only for the earth He has given us, but also, and especially, in the promise of our resurrection to glory with Him.

The Mirror - by Marcia Janson

When we were children, my brother and I argued a lot. These set-tos usually ended up with one of us accusing the other of being a liar, cry-baby or worse. The inevitable rejoinder was something along the lines of, “Look in the mirror, why don’t you?” For some reason, the mirror remark always hurt worse than the name-calling.

Almost half a century later, I am doing much the same thing, albeit in the private confines of my head. I glare at the driver who just cut me off and mutter, “Selfish so-and so!” When a movie character sulks and indulges in a pity party, I think, “Grow up!”

Lately, the Holy Spirit has been giving me little nudges concerning this attitude…quietly holding a mirror up to my inner eye. Not to shame me or accuse me, but so I can see what is really going on when I launch into attack mode. It comes down to this: I don’t want to see the mess in me, so I deflect my accusations toward others. It’s painful to poke around in my own trash pile. Some things are too icky to expose to the light of day.

I tend to think that it’s going to kill me if I admit to certain flaws in my character. I certainly don’t want God to look too closely at the real me. He might point out that “this and this and this has to go or you are no longer in my good books.” Ouch! Of course, I know that this is a lie, that God isn’t condemning, but saving me; that he isn’t trying to whip me into shape, but is transforming me by renewing my mind. He doesn’t want me to feel ashamed and full of despair at my failings. In Christ, my most dreadful weaknesses will become my greatest strengths.

I may know these things to be true, but the “keeper of the mess” can’t live with that kind of grace, so hauls out pitiful excuses and useless rationalizations for maintaining the status quo. Lately though, I’ve sensed the Spirit saying, “Let her die, darling…she’s sucking the life out of you.” I’d like to do that, but how do I go about it? First of all, I need to look at her straight on, with no deflecting and no excuses. Giving in to fear tends to enlarge the mess rather than shrink it.

Obstacles are like wild animals. They are cowards, but they will bluff you if they can. If they see you are afraid of them…they are liable to spring upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight. ~ Orison Swett Marden

I don’t need to be afraid because Jesus will be right there with me. The battle is not mine, but God’s (2 Chronicles 20:15) and I can do all things through Christ - including facing my mess head-on. Once the ugliness is exposed, I must then cut ties with it and invite Jesus into that area of my life. After all, light always overcomes darkness.

So, the next time I’m motoring around town, perhaps thinking snarky thoughts about other drivers and then feeling ashamed about it, I hope God interrupts the process. I hope he reminds me that, “…anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Cor. 5:17)

Be willing to surrender
 what you are for
 what you could become

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Photo credits: Drawing - Basvanuyen; Be willing to surrender - Hoolah Tallulah