FBC Daily Devotional – January 14, 2022

Well, good Friday morning to you. We're at the end of the week already and looking forward to the weekend I trust you are and I trust you're looking forward to gathering together with God's people on this coming Lord's Day and It's always a highlight of the week.

It should be it should be the time of the week that We all look forward to those of us who are followers of Christ where we can gather together with God's people. We can worship our God we can hear from his word and find out more of what God is like and what God likes and that you know, God can use those things to Shape us and mold us into greater Christ likeness.

That should be the the goal and the desire of the life of every believer in Christ. Well, so here we are on Friday and a couple of days away from the Lord's Day and today We read in Acts chapter 26 and in this passage of Scripture Paul is standing before King Agrippa and you know Agrippa just for entertainment purposes I suppose he wanted to hear what Paul had to say.

And so Paul gives him an earful and in the course of that Testimony Paul's testimony before Agrippa. He asks a question that still It still serves to be asked today and needs to be answered by every single person and The question is this we read of it in We read of it in verse 8 where Paul asks Agrippa Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?

Now, of course Paul is referencing the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb and You can imagine that when Paul spoke of Jesus resurrection that Agrippa heard that and his eyebrows went up like oh, yeah.

Right.

God raised up Jesus from the dead which led Paul to ask the question. It's a good question. Why should it be thought incredible by you by anyone that God? raises the dead. Now if you were to ask that question.

Superficial.

Superficially to anybody on the street. You got a co-worker or whatever, you know somebody you're trying to witness to or to testify about Christ to and and they're. You know kind of scoffing a little bit, you know.

Ask this. Why should you think it's incredible that God should raise the dead? They're probably off the cuff for answer would be well, nobody's ever seen it before. Nobody's ever seen anything like that.

That of course would betray an ignorance of the biblical record, right. Because I mean there are several occasions where People have been raised from the dead that are recorded in the scripture. You got a couple of them in the Old Testament at least and you got a few that in the New Testament Jesus raised some people from the dead and Lazarus and.

Jairus's.

Daughter and so forth but.

That.

Nobody's ever seen it would be the superficial answer to the simple question. You know, we don't have any video. We don't have any Scientific record of that kind of thing happened. It's not been duplicated scientifically.

So that's why we think it's simple, but really.

Really.

The.

The thought that it is an incredible thing that God should raise the dead an impossible thing really that it's not something that couldn't happen belies a deeper problem and that has to do with a low view of God a very low view of God.

It shouldn't surprise us that people deny the reality of the resurrection who also deny the fact of divine creation. And a creation out of nothing as recorded in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 it shouldn't surprise us that those who have no belief in the Control of God God's sovereign control over all things.

That he could raise the dead. I mean, I don't believe that God has any control over the affairs of this world. The affairs of climate and the governmental affairs and so on. It's over there no thought whatsoever that God has any control over any of that.

Well, if he has no control no power. No say no ability to do anything with the affairs of this world, then yeah, why how could he raise somebody from the dead or. That he has no personal or practical authority over my life.

You know, I can do what I want to do I you know, God God doesn't have anything to do with my life. I mean, that's how most people live if they don't. Think that if they maybe they wouldn't verbalize that that's what they believe because that's how they they live and when they deny the fact the truth that God is the ultimate judge of all the earth and of me.

You see that that consistently low view of God shows itself also in.

The.

Disbelief over the reality of a literal physical resurrection that God could and did raise Jesus from the dead. Why should it be thought an incredible thing to you that God raises the dead? If you have a high view of God if you have a biblical view of God You would say well, of course he can and in course, of course he has.

It's not an incredible thing that God raises the dead. I Hope you have the right view of God a view that sees it as nothing difficult whatsoever For him to raise the dead. Because he has if he hasn't then my friend we are all utterly hopeless.

I'm glad we're not Our Father in our God. We do. Thank you today for who you are. We thank you for your power. We thank you for your Sovereignty, we thank you for your authority. We thank you for your righteousness We thank you that We thank you that you do indeed Raise the dead.

Jesus Christ rose from the dead by the power of the triune God and That is not an incredible thing to believe Because of who you are Thank you for revealing yourself to us in your word. May we trust your word as It is given to us this we pray in Jesus name and for his sake.

Amen.

All right.

Well have a wonderful rest of your Friday and a great weekend and I trust God will bless you in it. Especially as you gather to worship on the Lord's Day. God bless.