"Resurrection..............."

Three weeks into Summer Break and most of those in my acquaintance, if not already departed on an adventure of some sort, are looking forward to one in the near future. My own schedule is filled in with trip to the dentist this morning and a biopsy over at Veterans Friday. Nonetheless, it “feels good”, my mood not really thirsting for all that goes with vacationing. There’s plenty of peace and quiet right here, no obligations other than what I assign myself, a three-mile exercise walk in the park almost every day, a flower bed under construction in the back yard, a short nap in the afternoon, and dinner at some nearby restaurant with my wife every evening. Two or three books, some crossword puzzles, and this computer pretty well sums up my life at the moment, a heaven on earth environment without all the money required to find excitement somewhere else. Bible class tonight, Acts Chapter Four, last week’s lesson still fresh on my mind. Yet pondering that discussion we entertained on there being power and authority in the name of Jesus, I’m still convinced that we, rather than knowing the reality of Christ alive in us, have settled instead for a theology that defines Him. No; that’s not to endorse what has come to us the last few decades via celebrity televangelism, but it is intended to stress the truth that either the indwelling is an actual re-connection with the Creator, one in which the Holy Ghost is more than a doctrinal tenet held in a profession of faith, or else the only thing we possess in fact is another religious dogma. In John’s gospel, we read “I can of myself do nothing” and “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me”. The Savior did not stop there, however, going on to say that the works He accomplished documented His identity and that, while perusal of Scripture was a worthy endeavor, eternal life was a matter of knowing Him in the journey. For me, “grace” is an encounter with His resurrection. “Christianity” is His presence reaffirmed in my life again and again as I stumble down the path, whether it come to me in a prayer closet, as an emergence into His depths during a worship service, or through me somehow in my everyday contact with others. “Power” and “authority” are His attributes, not mine; and in that sense only are they available unto me. My focus is on Him, not the situation in front of me, His name but a statement pointing to a trust that He is never out of earshot in whatever the next step holds……