The Legacy of Learning, Part Two
Ignorance is not bliss. On the contrary, it is the breeding ground for fear, prejudice, and superstition, to name just a few. Knowledge is critical.
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Insight for Today
Written by Chuck Swindoll, these encouraging devotional thoughts are published seven days per week.
The Legacy of Learning, Part One
Slice it any way you wish, ignorance is not bliss. Dress it in whatever garb you please, ignorance is not attractive. Neither is it the mark of humility nor the path to spirituality. It certainly is not the companion of wisdom.
Insensitivity, Part Two
Read 1 Peter 4:8
Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)
Insensitivity, Part One
Read Galatians 6:2, 10
Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)
My kids pulled a fast one on me one Christmas years ago. They teamed up, pooled their vast financial resources, and bought me a little motto to set on my desk. It was more than cute...it was convicting. In bold, black letters it read:
DIETS ARE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE THICK AND TIRED OF IT
At first you thmile...then it makes you thad. Especially if you’re not thick of being thick!
Home
Read Matthew 12:21; Acts 2:26; 1 Corinthians 15:54–57
And his name will be the hope of all the world. (Matthew 12:21)
No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope. (Acts 2:26)
Hope is our lifeline, keeping us engaged in the struggle. Marathoners press on to the finish line as long as they have hope. Nothing—virtually nothing—is able to defeat us if our hope stays alive.
Like Him We Rise
Read 1 Corinthians 15:13–14
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. (1 Corinthians 15:13–14)
Let’s assume for a minute that there is no resurrection. The apostle Paul follows that thought in his first letter to the Corinthians and comes up with at least six results. If Christ hadn’t been raised:
My Redeemer Lives!
Read Job 19:25
But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. (Job 19:25)
Too often Christians try to take the hideousness out of death. In doing so, however, we cut short the grieving process. We’re so eager to rush to the end and show the hope beyond the grave that we don’t deal adequately with the pain that accompanies death. For there is no denying it: Death is an ugly thing! Jesus says it is an enemy that He will ultimately destroy.
Hope
Read Romans 5:12; Genesis 3:4
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12 NASB)
The theme threaded from Genesis to Revelation is the plague of death, and all humanity has the disease. Being fallen creatures, we don’t want to face it. We try to anesthetize ourselves against it with denial and isolation.
Transformation
Read Acts 2:32, 36; 17:6; Mark 16:12–13
“This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses....Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2:32, 36 NASB1995)
Imagine what it must have been like for Jesus’ disciples and followers, who had just seen His bruised and broken dead body taken from the cross and buried.
He Is Risen!
Read Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:3
Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. (Matthew 28:1)
Resurrection comes from resurge or resurgence, in the sense of “coming back” or “renewing” or “rising up.” In other words, Jesus Christ, who was once down, dead, laid aside, crucified, later stood up miraculously and bodily. He “resurged.” He came back to life, never to die again.
