{"id":685,"date":"2013-05-09T00:36:35","date_gmt":"2013-05-09T05:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gpc.168prayer.org\/?p=685"},"modified":"2013-05-10T12:06:44","modified_gmt":"2013-05-10T17:06:44","slug":"immersed-in-the-resurrection-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpc.168prayer.org\/?p=685","title":{"rendered":"Immersed in the Resurrection Power"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u4e2d\u6587\u8acb\u9ede\u64ca<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u9019\u88e1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere, O death, is your victory?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Where, O death, is your sting?\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2013 1 Corinthians 15:55<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, May 1st<\/sup>, my friend\u2019s 13 year-old son passed away.\u00a0 This event tangibly imprinted in me a most indelible picture of walking immersed in God\u2019s resurrection power.<\/p>\n

Even though Jonathan had struggled with a heart condition since birth, he lived as a young man full of hope and vibrancy.\u00a0 His father, Philip, is a man of tremendous faith.\u00a0 In that faith, Philip was resolute to bring about an abundant and forward looking life for his son, whom he named Jonathan, which means \u201cthe gift of God\u201d.<\/p>\n

Over his short life, Jonathan has been admitted to intensive care 52 time and overcame great odds of physical paralysis.\u00a0 I have never seen him project himself as a sick person and he always greets me with that infectious smile. \u00a0He regularly served other underprivileged kids at Teen Challenge<\/a> alongside his father.\u00a0 He was passionate about music and dreamed that he will one day lead worship with Hillsong United.\u00a0 He carried a mature sense of gratitude, reflecting a sobriety in the knowledge that everyday he lives is somehow under the hand of grace and nothing can be taken for granted. \u00a0Yet, that gratitude also projected a child\u2019s innocence \u2013 undemanding and free spirited, always leaning into the hope tomorrow may bring.\u00a0 Jonathan was baptized in water baptism on April 20th<\/sup>, poised to run his life\u2019s race, just 12 days before the Lord took him home. \u00a0It seems that the spark of destiny was snuffed out no sooner than it has been ignited.<\/p>\n

God, teach us Your heart in this because we lack wisdom \u2013 for our greatest comfort comes from understanding Your purpose, Your desire\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

That understanding came as I began to prepare the opening prayer for the funeral service. \u00a0In piecing together the messages of death and resurrection<\/a> from the past few weeks, I came to realize that this service can bring comfort not only through remembrance, but also through celebration.\u00a0 God has called us as walking witnesses of His resurrection power.\u00a0 When death comes to us, whether as a death of the body, aspiration, relationship, vision, opportunity, career, wealth, reputation, or capability, we as Christ\u2019s witnesses can celebrate because we have entered the \u201czone\u201d for resurrection.\u00a0 Being immersed in the resurrection power is to take death as God has intended it to be \u2013 as the pathway to a greater regeneration of who we were and what we had \u2013 a greater manifestation of His might in us.\u00a0 We celebrate in that fact.<\/p>\n

Where, O death, is your victory?<\/p>\n

Where, O death, is your sting?<\/p>\n

Where, O death, is your fear?<\/p>\n

Where, O death, is your authority over us?<\/p>\n

You, O death, are a necessary stopping point in our journey to resurrection;<\/p>\n

While the world submits to your fear, we celebrate in God\u2019s designation of you as our tool to manifest a greater witness.<\/p>\n

Lord, we pray that You will open the eyes of Philip and his family to the resurrection power they are now immersed under. \u00a0For Jonathan\u2019s death has not only prepared him for a future resurrection, it has also brought his surviving family into a \u201czone\u201d to experience a greater regeneration of the hopes and aspirations that seemed to have died with him. \u00a0May all of us be lifted up by this family\u2019s testimony and we celebrate in the \u201cdeaths\u201d that immerse us in God\u2019s resurrection power.<\/em><\/p>\n

Blessed be the Name of the Lord. \u00a0Blessed be Your Name.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Hosanna” by Hillsong United<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u4e2d\u6587\u8acb\u9ede\u64ca\u9019\u88e1 \u201cWhere, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?\u201d \u2013 1 Corinthians 15:55 On Wednesday, May 1st, my friend\u2019s 13 year-old son passed away.\u00a0 This event tangibly imprinted in me a most indelible picture of walking … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpc.168prayer.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpc.168prayer.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpc.168prayer.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpc.168prayer.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpc.168prayer.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=685"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/gpc.168prayer.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":689,"href":"https:\/\/gpc.168prayer.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685\/revisions\/689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpc.168prayer.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpc.168prayer.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpc.168prayer.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}