8/23/13

8/23/13

"I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God's church......But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can't be true if there is no resurrection of the dead." (1 Corinthians 15:3-9, 12-15 NLT)

We have to believe in miracles to be Christians. What? Really? I don't know if I can do that. Isn't Christianity about following this God guy? Believing that miracles happen is too much of a stretch. If you are asking these questions, then you are like me. The doubt creeps in.
When I was a young boy, my church was having a campout. We had sat around a fire one night, and stayed up late fellowshipping together, hanging out around that fire. If you have ever had a campfire, you understand that the heat inside that fire pit lasts a long time. So in the morning, that bed of white-hot coals (like after the red color goes away, but still blistering) was sitting there, waiting. That morning, some of us kids were playing in the campground, and this kid Ryan, who was probably 2, was running around in just a diaper. Anyway, somehow, in a toddler sort of a way, teetering on his feet, he ended up backing up next to that fire-pit. And then his heels hit the ring of that pit, and he fell flat on his back in those white-hot coals. His head was buried in the coals to his ears probably. My dad sprung to action and grabbed him out. Thinking the worst, my dad frantically began to wipe the hot coals off of his back and hair, and my dad's hand was getting burned in the process. His diaper was melted, but there was not a blister on his body, and his hair was not burned......Miracle
But, even though I can tell this story like it was yesterday, and I know how hot the coals were, and I know my dad burned his hands wiping off those coals, and I saw his melted diaper, I still have a hard time believing in miracles. And, so it sounds from this chapter, so did the church in Corinth. Specifically, the resurrection of the dead. But Paul makes a great point: if you don't believe in the resurrection of the dead, then how can you believe in Christ? How is the cross worth anything, if Christ is not alive? Through resurrection, Christ conquered death and the grave, once for all.

God, turn us from our unbelief!

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