Tell Me a Story: Devotions From Time of Grace MinistryCampione

STORY #1: Resurrection We all resonate with President Teddy Roosevelt’s dictum, “Speak softly, but carry a big stick.” Power trumps talk, doesn’t it? In late 1907 Roosevelt sent 16 U.S. battleships on a 43,000-mile journey around the globe to show off America’s growing fleet. Painted pure white with gilded scrollwork, the “Great White Fleet” forcibly made the point that America was now a first-rate military power. Displays of power, however, do not convert people to faith in Christ. You might think that resurrection from the dead, the ultimate in miracles, would have brought everybody in Israel and the ancient Near East to faith. It didn’t happen when the “other” Lazarus was raised (John 11) nor with the resurrection of Christ himself, nor with the resurrections performed by Paul and Peter. He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31). Ah, but all who do listen to Moses and the Prophets and who believe their message have already begun to live again. Connected to Christ, we are connected once again to the life force of the universe. His unshakable Word promises that we ourselves will rise from the dead and that we will see the resurrected Redeemer with our own eyes. His Word is enough.