Well. Here’s another post about the wonders of Finals Weeks.
As a student at 2 schools, there is a ton of overlap in assignments and finals. Having papers due, and tests to take really takes a toll on a person. I am super blessed to be able to further my education and my spiritual life at the same time in two amazing schools.
I have another paper to write, and then a test to take on Monday.
Here’s some thoughts for the day:
In John 20:3-7 (NIV), we see Peter and another disciple coming to see if what Mary had told them about Jesus not being in the tomb was true.
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.
God brought me to this verse last week, and really placed it on my heart to look into the meanings behind this specific passage.
As I began to read the scriptures, I instantly thought of the death of our old selves and the spiritual resurrection that we are brought through when we become intertwined in a relationship with Christ. We are just like Christ in that we figuratively die to our sins, and then God raises us up into a whole new person. We are changed from the inside out. In death, the organs inside of us stop working, they shut down. In resurrection, those organs are brought to wholeness and healing again. There is a total restoration of the life inside of them. The same way that when I decided that my relationship with Christ was more important than my own plans, the things that were inside of me: the lust, the desire to sin, the hatred toward people… all those things died within me. Then God raised me up, and brought to life a desire to run after him, a need to worship my Christ, and a LOVE toward all the people around me. There is NEW LIFE.
People that don’t understand what happened to me are like Peter and the other disciple that ran to the tomb. All they can see is the remnant of the death. They can see the strips of cloth that remain from my past life. They can always see the past junk, but when they see those things… they should NEVER see me back in it. The fact that I am missing from the old life, the tomb, a literal representation of DEATH, is a testimony to the repentance, the 180 degree turn, the complete ravishing of my heart, mind, and soul by Christ!!! There is such a great representation of LIFE in the remnant of the tomb. Just as the tomb is always a symbol of the resurrection of Christ, I firmly believe that it should be a reminder of what Christ brought each of us from!
WOAH!!! The Lord just blew my mind with all this!!! I am so excited that I just got to share this with you!!!
I hope this encourages you just as it encouraged me.
Love, Bethany
