BBD 12.29.09 Begin Again - Part 2 (New)

#1 · December 29, 2009, 11:12 am

Quote from Forum Archives on December 29, 2009, 11:12 am
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
Visit the Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net
www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating 11 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of Gods Word to more than 11,000 subscribers across the world.

Please join the Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998 and is made up of over 300 prayer warriors. Send prayer requests and receive prayer requests. To join send an email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

You can now leave comments/feedback about the devotionals at www.theburningbush.net.

Im now on twitter and you can find me at http://www.twitter.com/edwrather.

The Burning Bush Devotional
Welcome to the 1366 new subscribers since January 1, 2009

12.29.09

Begin Again - Part 2

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable (stand firm. Let nothing move you. - NIV), always abounding (Always give yourselves fully - NIV) in the work of the Lord, knowing (because you know - NIV) that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. - 1 Corinthians 15:58 NKJV.

Life is made up of beginnings and endings and more beginnings. As we travel the road of life the more of those beginnings and endings that we encounter the more difficult it can be to begin again. The apostle Paul gives us some direction as to how to continue to move forward with life, beginning again and again. Those directions are given in 1 Corinthians 15:58. The first instruction that Paul gives us is to stand firm. Let nothing move you.

Next Paul gives us the vital instruction for getting started again, for moving forward, for living life, for experiencing the abundant life. Paul says, Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. When we come to an end of a phase of our lives, when we experience tragedy, when we experience failure, when we are face-to-face with our own mortality - it can be very hard to take that step forward, to move ahead, to begin something new. The key to doing so is to give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord.

We have just celebrated Christmas and at Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus, we celebrate the birth of our Savior. But what did Jesus have to do in order to be born as a human being upon this earth? He had to give up the glories of Heaven, the comforts of Heaven. To be our Savior, He would have to experience life as we experience it with all of the trials and tribulations - with all of the joys, and all of the pains. Jesus had to give Himself fully to leave Heaven and descend to the humanness of walking upon this earth. This was an all or nothing project. He could not do this halfway with one foot in Heaven and the other upon earth. He had to fully leave Heaven and fully enter the life of a human being upon this earth.

Jesus walked upon this earth it is thought for about 33 years and during that time He experienced joy, pain, tragedy and temptation. Jesus was not moved, He stood firm in the work that His Father had set before Him. At the very end of His human life Jesus faced one last challenge and that challenge was whether or not to go that last mile, to take that last step that would mean an agonizing death on the cross. The death on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead could not be accomplished with one foot in life, and one foot in death. He could only become our Savior by giving Himself fully, totally, completely upon the cross for our sins. That, we know, is what Jesus did. He gave Himself so that we might have life, life eternal, life pressed down and overflowing beyond our imaginations. To have life we must also give ourselves fully to the work of the Heavenly Father, just as Jesus did.

In Luke 9:23 we are told, Then he said to them all: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Jesus was saying much the same as the apostle Paul was saying. Jesus is talking about a total surrender, total giving of our lives to the work of the Lord. Remember Jesus had to take up His cross and carry it in humiliation through the streets of Jerusalem until He collapsed in exhaustion. It was that same cross that He carried that He would die upon.

What happened after Jesus died on the cross? He rose again. What Jesus was saying, what Paul was saying, is that if we want to live, really live - then we will have to die - die to self, die to this world; and, give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord. In the next verse in Luke 9:24 Jesus says, For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. To have life, to begin again, we must give ourselves fully, totally, completely over to the work of the Lord.

Copyright © 2009. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there and they will be forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you are not my friend on facebook or myspace you can be, just add me. The devotionals are posted in my blogs on those two social networks and you can leave comments, feedback about them there. There are other social networks designed just for Christians, however, this is an outreach project to reach those who may not know the Lord or may have wandered away. You can help me reach out to them.

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-subscribe@welovegod.org

Two videos of my sermons are posted on Godtube at: www.godtube.com/Wrather

You can listen to services at my son, Clark Wrather's church (First Baptist Church of Broken Bow, Oklahoma) live on Sunday mornings at 10:55am CST www.kkbifm.com/

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You may SUBSCRIBE to the html text group by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-subscribe@welovegod.org and you may UNSUBSCRIBE by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.
-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushhtml-unsubscribe@welovegod.org   

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net
http://www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating 11 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of Gods Word to more than 11,000 subscribers across the world.

Please join the Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998 and is made up of over 300 prayer warriors. Send prayer requests and receive prayer requests. To join send an email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

You can now leave comments/feedback about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.

Im now on twitter and you can find me at http://www.twitter.com/edwrather.

The Burning Bush Devotional
Welcome to the 1366 new subscribers since January 1, 2009

12.29.09

Begin Again - Part 2

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable (stand firm. Let nothing move you. - NIV), always abounding (Always give yourselves fully - NIV) in the work of the Lord, knowing (because you know - NIV) that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. - 1 Corinthians 15:58 NKJV.

Life is made up of beginnings and endings and more beginnings. As we travel the road of life the more of those beginnings and endings that we encounter the more difficult it can be to begin again. The apostle Paul gives us some direction as to how to continue to move forward with life, beginning again and again. Those directions are given in 1 Corinthians 15:58. The first instruction that Paul gives us is to stand firm. Let nothing move you.

Next Paul gives us the vital instruction for getting started again, for moving forward, for living life, for experiencing the abundant life. Paul says, Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. When we come to an end of a phase of our lives, when we experience tragedy, when we experience failure, when we are face-to-face with our own mortality - it can be very hard to take that step forward, to move ahead, to begin something new. The key to doing so is to give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord.

We have just celebrated Christmas and at Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus, we celebrate the birth of our Savior. But what did Jesus have to do in order to be born as a human being upon this earth? He had to give up the glories of Heaven, the comforts of Heaven. To be our Savior, He would have to experience life as we experience it with all of the trials and tribulations - with all of the joys, and all of the pains. Jesus had to give Himself fully to leave Heaven and descend to the humanness of walking upon this earth. This was an all or nothing project. He could not do this halfway with one foot in Heaven and the other upon earth. He had to fully leave Heaven and fully enter the life of a human being upon this earth.

Jesus walked upon this earth it is thought for about 33 years and during that time He experienced joy, pain, tragedy and temptation. Jesus was not moved, He stood firm in the work that His Father had set before Him. At the very end of His human life Jesus faced one last challenge and that challenge was whether or not to go that last mile, to take that last step that would mean an agonizing death on the cross. The death on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead could not be accomplished with one foot in life, and one foot in death. He could only become our Savior by giving Himself fully, totally, completely upon the cross for our sins. That, we know, is what Jesus did. He gave Himself so that we might have life, life eternal, life pressed down and overflowing beyond our imaginations. To have life we must also give ourselves fully to the work of the Heavenly Father, just as Jesus did.

In Luke 9:23 we are told, Then he said to them all: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Jesus was saying much the same as the apostle Paul was saying. Jesus is talking about a total surrender, total giving of our lives to the work of the Lord. Remember Jesus had to take up His cross and carry it in humiliation through the streets of Jerusalem until He collapsed in exhaustion. It was that same cross that He carried that He would die upon.

What happened after Jesus died on the cross? He rose again. What Jesus was saying, what Paul was saying, is that if we want to live, really live - then we will have to die - die to self, die to this world; and, give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord. In the next verse in Luke 9:24 Jesus says, For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. To have life, to begin again, we must give ourselves fully, totally, completely over to the work of the Lord.

Copyright © 2009. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there and they will be forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you are not my friend on facebook or myspace you can be, just add me. The devotionals are posted in my blogs on those two social networks and you can leave comments, feedback about them there. There are other social networks designed just for Christians, however, this is an outreach project to reach those who may not know the Lord or may have wandered away. You can help me reach out to them.

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-subscribe@welovegod.org

Two videos of my sermons are posted on Godtube at: http://www.godtube.com/Wrather

You can listen to services at my son, Clark Wrather's church (First Baptist Church of Broken Bow, Oklahoma) live on Sunday mornings at 10:55am CST http://www.kkbifm.com/

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You may SUBSCRIBE to the html text group by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-subscribe@welovegod.org and you may UNSUBSCRIBE by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushhtml-unsubscribe@welovegod.org