BBD 10.27.06 The Living Dead
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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The Burning Bush Devotional
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10.27.06
The Living Dead
And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is
life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus
from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also
give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. -
Romans 8:10-11.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved
us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ
(by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit
together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. - Ephesians 2:4-6.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as
children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness,
righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And
have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose
them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by
them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the
light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: "Awake, you
who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light." - Ephesians
5:8-14.
In the Philippines, Manila is the capitol and the home of twelve million
people. There are huge areas of people who are barely surviving the pressure
of the poverty in which they live. To those living there it is probably no
surprise that some of the living are living among the dead. Many people
become squatters in cemeteries such as the Manila North Cemetery. Because of
the expansion of the cemetery, some people were forced off of the land they
were on and have moved onto the cemetery property. Others end up living in
the cemetery after moving to Manila to try to find a better job and more
opportunities.
One family (Actually three families - parents plus their sons and their
families.) has moved into a family member's mausoleum. Living conditions are
primitive with the only electricity being stolen from nearby power lines.
Some try to make a living by cleaning and painting the gravestones. Virginia
Bernardino, one of those living in the cemetery said, "So far we have not
seen any ghosts here. I think that only happens in the movies." Dr. Eduardo
Serrano, head of the Manila Health Department's preventable diseases
division said about the situation, "They already know that they should not
make homes out of cemeteries. It's dangerous to their health. The problem is
they are being asked to leave but they keep on coming back."
Spiritually, we who are Christians, who know Christ Jesus as our Savior, are
the living. The dead are those who do not know Jesus as their Savior. We too
are living among the dead, the spiritually dead.
For those who are physically dead and buried in a cemetery there is nothing
that the living can do for them. We cannot bring them back to life. However,
there is much that we can do for the living dead - those who are alive
physically but do not know Jesus as their personal Savior.
We can walk in the light of our Lord and shine the spiritual light of the
Lord on the moral morass of darkness around us exposing the evil. The living
dead through the light of our lives may come to understand their condition.
They are asleep in their death and they need to be awakened. "Awake, you who
sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light." Let us shine
the light of the Gospel into their lives before it is eternally too late.
So, whenever you walk among the living dead be sure to take your Gospel
light with you to shine on them. It may be that it is not too late and some
will be brought to life, eternal life.
Copyright © 2006. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
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