Wanted: Dead and Alive!

Wanted: Dead and Alive!

Colossians 3:1-11

For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3 – NASB)

Those old Western movies were quite exciting. There was a lot of shooting, fighting and chases on horseback. There were robberies of stagecoaches, land barons evicting poor farmers from their land, Indian attacks, and the usual romance thrown in.

Something else was common in those movies – wanted posters posted on the Sherriff’s office wall; they usually read:

WANTED:

Dead or Alive

Reward: $5,000

            A picture of the wanted man was also prominently displayed on the poster.

God also has His wanted posters. Instead of using the phrase DEAD or ALIVE, I thought what God wants His people to be are those who are both dead and alive.

Imagine a poster like the following:

WANTED:

Men and women both

Dead AND Alive

Reward:

ETERNAL LIFE

            Only people who are both dead and alive can truly accomplish God’s will for their lives. We must be dead to sin, but alive to God through the life of Christ dwelling in us.

Now, if you have no idea what I am talking about, let me explain.

The Christian faith is not like other religions; it is supernatural in origin, and supernatural in its working. So, we are talking of a miracle based on the finished work of Jesus Christ. In that light nothing can be impossible – even being dead and alive at the same time. Even living a holy life.

Living a Christ-like life is not impossible, or loving God with all our hearts, minds and souls and strength – and our neighbours as ourselves.

By the power of the Gospel our old lives are dead. By faith we live a hidden life, dead to sin, and alive to God through Jesus Christ.

There is no other way.

Alive to God

(© 12^th May 2015 – by Christopher Shennan)

For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3 – NASB)

The person you were is now dead.

If Jesus has redeemed your soul,

He has hidden your life in God,

And your spirit He has made whole.

Both dead and alive we both are;

Dead to sin and alive to God –

We’re born again of the Spirit –

We’re not on the path we once trod.

The blood of our Lord has cleansed us.

He paid for our sins on the Cross;

All that we thought was great gain,

We count now as nothing but loss.

I remember, praying out loud,

“Lord, please don’t let me go back there,

Where my life was burdened with sin.”

Now I find His love everywhere.

So I’m dead, and also alive;

My life is now hidden in God –

The things I regretted are past –

The path of forgiveness I’ve trod.

Please visit My website: www.christophershennan.ca
My blog: https://christophershennan.wordpress.com/
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Image is in the public domain.

Giving up – Or Never Letting Go?

APOLOGIES: I recently posted two of my blogs TWICE. Not cool. It won’t happen again. Thank you for your understanding.

Giving up – Or Never Letting Go?

As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:66-69 – NASB)

I read a fortune cookie statement once that said, “Men don’t fail… they give up trying.”

Besides noting women are just as likely as men are to give up, that is a sad commentary on the human spirit, even if only partly true.

For a follower of Christ it ought never to be true.

The only situations in which giving up would be an appropriate response to the tragedies and disappointments of life are:

• If God did not love us
• If Christ had not died for our sins and risen again
• If the blood of Christ lost its cleansing power
• If the promises of God were no longer valid
• If Christ no longer dwelt within us
• If Heaven were a myth
• If Eternal Life did not exist

The list goes on and on. Since God does love us with an everlasting love; Christ did die for us and rose again from the dead; Christ’s blood will never lose its power; God’s promises will never fail; Christ in us is the hope of glory; Heaven for the redeemed is a firm reality and Eternal life is offered to all…. giving up is not and option.

All you have to do is keep on believing and giving up won’t even occur to you.

Tony Evans said: “If life gets too hard to stand, kneel.

Not an Option

(© 30^th April 2015 – by Christopher Shennan)

Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69 – NASB)

I haven’t got any give-up in me,

For my God: He still renews my spirit;

He causes my heart to be steadfast, free

To serve God now – without merit.

God took all the giving-up out,

And replaced it with godly zeal;

Even when discouragement comes,

The Word that He tells me will heal.

I cannot give up for I know

That God works together for good

All things taking place in my life

God has covered – I knew He would.

When giving up seems an option,

And I can’t continue to stand,

I fall on my knees and cry out,

“I’ll do whatever You command.”

For the promise of God is true;

I can trust though I cannot see.

Giving up is not an option –

For my Saviour lives within me.

 Please visit My website: www.christophershennan.ca
My blog: https://christophershennan.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CNShennan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherShennanAuthor

Don’t Let Go by dbking unknown photographer. It was uploaded to wikimedia by AgnosticPreachersKid. Used under the CC BY 2.0 license; Please note the Disclaimer at this link. No changes were made to this photograph.

The Lord’s Table, Or a Different Table?

(Picture credits at end of post)

The Lord’s Table, Or a Different Table?

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. (Psalm 23:5 – NASB)

The confusing thing about life is that there are just too many tables out there, laden with goodies for us to feast upon; some of them are not “goodies” at all. To invent a term, they could well be called “baddies,” dressed up as goodies.

I am not referring to food here. I am speaking of the delicacies the world wants us to feed our souls on. There are so many feasts offered us, both good and bad, it is difficult to focus on or even find the Lord’s Table amongst them all.

As I said, they may not all be bad feasts, but why settle for the good or mediocre when the Lord’s Table is the only one offering a feast whose nourishment will last forever.

Just a few of the dainties offered on the Lord’s Table:

• Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord (John 3:36)
• Peace (John 14:27)
• Forgiveness of sins ( Colossians 1:13-14) )
• Cleansing from sin by the blood of Jesus ( 1John 1:7-9)
• Christ’s Presence through all of life’s trials (Hebrews 13:5)
• And many more.

With such a rich feast laid before us, why settle for a feast that, at best, will only give temporary relief to our soul hungers?

The Lord’s Table

(© Thursday 15^th January 2015 – by Christopher Shennan)

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. (Psalm 23:5 – NASB)

So many tables were set before me;

Each of them offered such sumptuous fare

That I could not decide what would suit me –

Which of those dainties my health could well bear.

So I tasted them all; some with great relish –

Others I knew were not good for my soul;

And some I found were really quite hellish.

All that I wished was my spirit made whole.

And then a friend said, “Come and feast with me,

At the table my Lord and Saviour has set;

Once you have feasted on His rich dainties,

You’ll not return to the others – I’ll bet.”

In the world you may find some distraction;

Only our Lord gives soul satisfaction.

 Please check out my books at My website: http://www.christophershennan.ca
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This image is a work of the National Institutes of Health, part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.