"The Stone Rolled Away"

 "The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre." (John 20:1 KJV) 

  "I have discovered this principle of life - that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin." (Romans 7:21-25 NLT)

 Maybe it is time we start thinking about what it is that makes us so vulnerable to drop our guard? If that is what we want to call it? Dressing ourselves in the Full Armor of God helps; but it still doesn't stop us from looking within for answers, responses, and reactions to life's critical moments! 

 As I am reading this, Full Armor of God thing, to my wife every morning, I seem to get somewhat distracted, more like a cringe, every time I say that name, 'Satan,' outload, as if he is the only one that is going to cause me to mess up and commit sin. I get it, we have a serious foe, real as he might be; but there is more to be dealt with in this life than he who is in this world; we still have the world within us! 

 The whole point to Israel and the picture that is shown to us, from just about every page of the Bible, is that they are always falling short from being God's chosen people; no matter how much they tried, they still ended up falling back into idol worship, adultery against God, and desiring things which God has warned them not to go after. 

 Don't ask me what this is all about, because I have no clue! I asked for answers, not for excuses; excuses are easy to find! I can easily point a finger at someone, blaming them for the way I think, feel, or pretend to be motivated, in whatever direction I want to go. We can blame it on the devil, but he just helps us get down the wrong road, when we shouldn't have been on that road in the first place! 

 Look at it this way: The tomb is where death was bound; the body was kept within, to illustrate that it was captive to the grave. But the stone was rolled away! The resurrected body was freed, to walk in the power of new life; the old life is gone, the new life has been put in motion; a life that is filled with God's Spirit, in order to lead us down the right road!  

 Don't ask me where this is going, because I have no clue! Neither do we know where God leads us, until He leads us; but whatever and wherever He does, it requires that we trust Him, even when it doesn't make sense! He knows best what we need, when we need it, and how far we will go! 

 As I listened to a message yesterday about planning things for our lives, it reminded me of all the times I set out to do something that I felt God had told me to do; but then went forward, doing it my own way. Whatever it was, a new home, a new truck, a change of motivation; nothing really matters, regardless of how much we think it is ours's to do, if God's will isn't being followed at every turn! You don't need much of a turn, to be headed in the wrong direction. 

 By the way, if Mary was coming to anoint the body of Jesus, who was going to roll away the stone? Weren't there soldiers surrounding the tomb, which had been sealed? I'm scratching my head for answers, hoping that I don't get confused. But, if you think about it, for whatever it's worth, she might have came, just to see the stone was rolled away... 

"So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his Son in a body like bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our own sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4 NLT)