Could Jesus Have Survived the Crucifixion? (and other devotionals)

Could Jesus Have Survived the Crucifixion? by Greg Laurie The swoon theory is one of Satan's oldest lies concerning the Resurrection. This theory proposes that Jesus did not rise from the dead, because He never really died. Instead, Jesus went into a deep coma or "swoon" from the severe pain and trauma of the Crucifixion. Then, in the cool atmosphere of the tomb, Christ revived, somehow escaped the strips of cloths that were wrapped tightly upon Him, and then appeared to His disciples. The swoon theory flies in the face of the facts. You see, the Roman guards were experts at execution and would be put to death if they allowed a condemned man, like Christ, to escape death. The guards were certain Jesus was dead, because when they thrust a spear into His side, it brought forth blood and water. This was their final proof of His death because this occurs when the heart stops beating. Some time ago I read a local advice column that featured a reader's question about the Resurrection. The reader asked, "Dear Uticus, Our preacher said that Jesus swooned on the cross and then His disciples nursed Him to health. What do you think? Signed, Bewildered." Uticus responded, "Dear Bewildered, Beat your preacher with a cat-o'-nine-tails thirty-nine times. Nail him to a cross. Hang him in the sun for six hours. Run a spear through his side, embalm him, and put him in an airless tomb for thirty-six hours and see what happens. Sincerely, Uticus." Uticus' response points to the ridiculousness of the swoon theory. Amazingly enough, people still subscribe to this theory. Not because it's plausible. Not because it's logical, but because it's something to hang their doubt on. The truth of the matter is that Jesus Christ has risen! _______________________________ In Whose Strength? “…then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth’” - Deuteronomy 8:17 I was talking to someone the other day who has been up and down financially more than I could personally handle. He has been very successful in more than one business venture, only to lose it all, and then start over again. This last venture; however, has cost him greatly. Great amounts of money have gone into something that now sits in a warehouse, with little hope of distribution. What is he going to do? In his own words, “I am going back to church.” The key point here is the word back. At one time, he and his wife were involved in their church, gave to missions, and looked for ways to use their financial blessings to bless others. Then, as the business grew, they got busier, and had less time for the things of God. Before long, they even stopped attending church. The Lord warned the Israelites to be very careful when they entered the new land of promise and prosperity. They would be tempted to think that their success and wealth were of their own doing. Or they would forget God when they felt satisfied with their prosperity. They would serve mammon rather than God. But the Lord wanted them to remember that He was the One who brought them up from the land of Egypt. He was the One who delivered them from slavery and bondage. He was the One who brought them to this land of blessings. We can be so arrogant as humans. Not only do we start to think that we have made our own way by our own strength, but also we turn away from the One who blessed us so wonderfully. That is what happened to the Israelites and that is what happened to my friend. When times are hard, we cry out to God for help. We press into Him. He is our only hope. We tend to be less attentive to God when we are doing well and life is cruising along. Regardless of where you are today, remember one thing: You have a Lord and Savior who only wants you. We have a Lord who desires to be with us, have a relationship with us, and wants us to desire Him above anything else in the world. He is a jealous God and He will do whatever it takes to get our attention. Draw closer to Him today. Pray that you do not fall away. If you have, then come back to Him. Do not get caught up in the things of life and lose sight of your relationship with Jesus. Stay with Him so He does not have to come get you back. ~Daily Disciples Devotional~ ___________________________ What You Were Made to Do Many people stop short of their destiny. They settle for someone else’s story. Grandpa was a butcher, Dad was a butcher, so I guess I’ll be a butcher. Everyone I know is in farming, so I guess I’m supposed to farm. Consequently, they risk leading dull, joyless, and fruitless lives. They never sing the song God wrote for their voices. They never cross a finish line with heavenward-stretched arms and declare, I was made to do this!  They fit in, settle in, and blend in. But they never find their call. Don’t make the same mistake. Ephesians 2:10 says: “It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.” Your existence is not accidental. Your skills are not incidental. God shaped each person in turn! ~Max Lucado~ ______________________ BIBLE MEDITATION: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places.” Habakkuk 3:17-19 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: In Habakkuk’s day, there was an economic recession. There were no cows in the barn. “Yet…” he writes. Oh, how I love that “yet” in verse 18. “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Where was his joy? In the Lord, not circumstances. If you depend on circumstances, you can’t say “rejoice always,” because circumstances change. You lose your job. You lose your health. You lose your friends. You lose your prestige. If that’s where you’re getting your joy, and that changes, you can’t say, “Yet will I rejoice.” But Habakkuk said, “Yet will I joy in the God of my salvation.” Where are you getting your joy? From the Lord? I hope you are. There’s one way we can find out. If you’re getting your joy from your job, we can take your job and see if you still have your joy. Maybe you’re getting your joy from your health. You say, “No, it’s from the Lord.” If your health fails, see if you still have your joy. ACTION POINT: The only joy anyone can have is in the Lord, because He never changes. Your joy can be threatened if you get it anywhere else. It’s not wrong to joy in your health or your job. But that kind of joy that can be threatened. You need a joy which supersedes that. Psalm 16:11: says, “Thou will show me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy.” Rejoice in the Lord always. ~Adrian Rogers~ ______________________ For with God nothing shall be impossible (Luke 1:37). Far up in the Alpine hollows, year by year God works one of His marvels. The snow-patches lie there, frozen with ice at their edge from the strife of sunny days and frosty nights; and through that ice-crust come, unscathed, flowers that bloom. Back in the days of the by-gone summer, the little soldanelle plant spread its leaves wide and flat on the ground, to drink in the sun-rays, and it kept them stored in the root through the winter. Then spring came, and stirred the pulses even below the snow-shroud, and as it sprouted, warmth was given out in such strange measure that it thawed a little dome in the snow above its head. Higher and higher it grew and always above it rose the bell of air, till the flower-bud formed safely within it: and at last the icy covering of the air-bell gave way and let the blossom through into the sunshine, the crystalline texture of its mauve petals sparkling like snow itself as if it bore the traces of the flight through which it had come. And the fragile thing rings an echo in our hearts that none of the jewel-like flowers nestled in the warm turf on the slopes below could waken. We love to see the impossible done. And so does God. Face it out to the end, cast away every shadow of hope on the human side as an absolute hindrance to the Divine, heap up all the difficulties together recklessly, and pile as many more on as you can find; you cannot get beyond the blessed climax of impossibility. Let faith swing out to Him. He is the God of the impossible. ~L. B. Cowman~