Beginnings, Middles, Ends

Tuesday, April 22, 2014 Devotions: Ps103, 111, 114; Ex 12:28-39; 1 Cor 15:12-28; Mk 16:9-20 Let all within me bless God's holy Name! Bless Him and don't forget all His benefits; He forgives all my iniquities, heals my diseases; redeems my life from the Pit; crowns me with steadfast love and mercy. He satisfies me with good, all the days of this mortal life, and renews my youth even in my declining years. YHWH works vindication and justice for the oppressed; He progressively reveals Himself to His people. Our God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. He does not deal with me according to my sins and sinfulness; all praise to You, my God! As the heavens are high above the earth, so is God's steadfast love to those who revere Him. As far as East is from West, so far does He remove our sins from us. He pities us as a loving father pities his own children. He made us, and He understands us totally. We mortals come and go like weeds, but God's steadfast love is eternal, and His kindness and righteousness abide with us for ever. He rules in heaven; He owns all creation. Let all God's angels bless Him, and let all His works join the chorus. And praise the Lord, my soul! I join God's people in praising Him; I thank You, Lord, with my whole heart. Great are Your works, full of honor and majesty. You reveal Yourself and help us to remember You and Your awesome acts of love and power. You feed the hungry; You keep Your covenants. Your deeds are faith-full and altogether just, eternal and perfect. You have redeemed Your people; the fear of YHWH is the beginning of wisdom and humility; those who practice reverence and worship gain in maturity and understanding. Your praise, O Lord, endures for ever. Let all creation tremble in the presence of the Mighty One, the Holy One, the Eternal One, our God. Moses and the Israelites followed YHWH's instructions on the first Passover night. And at midnight, God struck down the firstborn in Egypt, except in those households signified by the sacrificial blood on their doorways. No Egyptian household was spared; Pharaoh's own first-born son died. The king summoned Moses and Aaron and commanded them to depart: 'Go and serve YHWH as you have said. Take your flocks and herds, and be gone; and bless me, also.' The Egyptians hastened the Israelites on their way and gave them the silver, gold and clothing the Israelites had requested—thus they despoiled the Egyptians. On the first leg of their exodus, Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth: 600,000 men, plus women, children, household goods and livestock. A mixed multitude also accompanied them. They baked unleavened cakes with the unrisen dough they took with them from Egypt. Now, if the Messiah is proclaimed as raised from death, how can some of you argue that there is no resurrection from death? If not, then Christ has not been raised, our preaching and your faith are false and vain, and you are still in your sins. If the dead are not raised, all have perished forever who have fallen asleep—died biologically-- since they believed. And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, then we are of all mortals those most to be pitied. But in fact, Christ, HAS been raised from the dead; He Is the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Just as death came to humankind through a man—the first Adam—so also by another Man—Jesus the Messiah—has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so in the Messiah shall all be made alive. But each rises in his proper order: the Messiah as the first-fruits, then, when He comes again, those who belong to the Messiah. And then the end will come, when Jesus delivers the kingdom to God the Father after Jesus had destroyed every rule and authority and power. He must reign until He has put every enemy under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For God has put all things under His feet—yet it is plain that God the Father is excepted, the One Who put all things under the feet of Jesus the Messiah. When all things are subjected to Him then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him Who put all things under Him, that God may be everything to every one. When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene—from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons. Mary went and told those who had been with Jesus, as they were mourning and weeping. When they heard that He was alive and Mary had seen Him, they would not believe it. But thereafter, He appeared in another form to two of them as they were walking into the country. And those two went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them either. After that, Jesus appeared to the Eleven themselves as they sat at table; and He upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had refused to believe those who saw Him after He had risen. And He said to them all: 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; but whoever does not believe ill be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they sick will recover.' After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at God's right hand. And the disciples went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen.