Let’s start here... Mary, and the other women who came with her, to the tomb of Jesus, did find the stone rolled away but they didn’t find it empty. Yes, it was empty of Jesus, but not empty of a message and the messengers of God. Now here’s the thing... these ladies entertained angles unaware. Mark tells us they noticed a young man. The other gospel give us insight on the fact that this young man was actually an angel who had another angel with him. The speaks volumes of the compassion of God and the calculated call upon our lives as His saints to go tell the good news that the Lord Jesus Christ is alive.

Secondly, Mary didn’t recognize the voice or the presence of Jesus, in general, until He got very personal with her, and gently spoke her name. Sound familiar? The same happens with us... when our minds are so fixed on finding or locating or focusing on something we thought we’ve lost... we, too, miss His presence, until He speaks something personal to us. Her focus was on her expectation... she expected to find a dead Jesus and it naturally hindered how she would see reality and truth. She didn’t recognize the angels or Jesus... all she wanted to know is where did they lay Him. Expectations show no partiality... and the wrong ones will get in the way of what we need to see and hear. I think we miss a lot of God’s work in our lives because of one to many false expectations... until Jesus gets personal with us.

I cannot pass up the opportunity to rejoice in the precious and priceless works of grace and the specific details that God fulfilled, in and through the lives of His people, to ensure that the seed of Christ made it to the cross. I can’t read in Mark’s revelation about the ministry and mission and message of Jesus and not think how God intentionally orchestrated and planted, in the loins of men, and the wombs of women, from Adam to Mary, the precious seed and life of His Son. And not one nor another happened by chance or accident... it was all calculated and curated by Him. He knew exactly who they would be from start to finish. And He has clearly communicated His curation and calculation of it all to us in His word.

Can you give me a little of your time, that we may think about this together for a brief moment of your day?

Do you think God, at any moment, changed His mind, or midway through history decided He’d alter or had to keep altering the line of men, that He personally chose from the beginning, who had absolutely no clue what was or had been inside of them, to bring His Son into the world? The seed of Jesus was in Abram, before Abram even knew who Abram was, much less anything about who God was or what God was going to do with Him. Here’s a few pointers, found in Hebrews 7:5-9 and Genesis 35:11, that help us see where God says that the descendants of Isaac and Jacob were in the body of Abraham, long before any of them were ever born. When God TOOK Abram—a gentile like me—and made him His very own, the single seed of Jesus was in his body already. And it didn’t make it there by chance, after the fact of his calling.

Glory... it was by NO accident that the single seed of the Christ Jesus, my crucified and resurrected Redeemer and King, was first in Adam, then Seth, Noah, Shem, Terah and Abraham's loins. No sir, not by accident at all, it was the eternal purpose and decree of God, who would personally weave His seed through the history of humanity, that He could clothe Himself in flesh, that He and He alone could rescue the very ones who carried His seed, from the other side of the Jordan. He lead and gave them the land that He, Himself, would one day be supernaturally conceived and molded by the Spirit of God, in the womb of a chosen virgin, to be born, live, die, be raised from the dead and one day return to for the sheep who trust and believe and obey and eagerly look for their Shepherd’s and King’s coming. Glory...

My God is sovereign... and I'm grateful to know Him, and to know He didn't leave His eternal plan and purpose up to chance or the choice of mortal men. He MADE it happen... and He didn't ask anyone if He could!

I get so excited and encouraged when I read things in Nehemiah and Isaiah which speak about Abraham and Sarah like this: "You are the Lord God, who CHOSE Abram, and BROUGHT him out... and GAVE him the name Abraham." Isaiah 29 and 51 reveal that God called, redeemed, blessed and increased Abraham. And Joshua proclaimed in chapter 24. Take a minute, when you can, and read the prophetic word he shared. You'll find things like this, (and ALL that I mention is in direct reference to what God MADE happen): He said, "I TOOK, I LED, I MULTIPLIED, I GAVE, I GAVE, I GAVE, I SENT, I PLAGUED, I DID, I BROUGHT, I BROUGHT, I DID, I BROUGHT, I GAVE, I DESTROYED, I DELIVERED, I DELIVERED, I SENT, I HAVE GIVEN."

And the neat thing about it all, He NEVER asked anyone if He could. Glory... I'm so glad to know He doesn't have to ask or poll this world to do what He wants. If He did, He'd be no different than us. But He is holy, and He is the One who chose to intentionally and selectively weave His way through the seed of a handful of men to fashion a chaste virgin, with an unopened womb, that He would favor and one day plant Himself within her, to save a people who would have NEVER been able or even want to save themselves apart from His amazing grace.

Don’t believe any pansy ideas about God “hoping” these things will “possibly” fall into place. Good Lord, no... trust a God that made it happen and will make it happen in your life. What we’re reading in Mark’s message didn’t just happen. God made it happen, because He determined that it would and could happen.

I want to join in harmony with the brethren who said, “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do WHATEVER Your hand and Your purpose DETERMINED before to be done.” ~ the Disciples (Acts 4:27-28)

(Isaiah 14:24-27 ; Isaiah 37:26-27 ; Luke 22:22 ; Acts 2:23 ; Acts 13:27)

Let me encourage you? Don't believe that lie when someone says, “God will never force men to do anything.” Open up the word, read and re-read your bible, again and again, stop taking what others have said He can or cannot do, and find out what He has to say about Himself. God’s not going to ask you who told you those lies. He’s going to ask you why did you trust them over Me? And for so many all they will be able to say is I didn’t know what You said, I only acted on what heard others say about You. Don’t let this be you... get in His word, seek His face, take captive every thought you think and hear, bring it before the obedience of Christ, and keep looking to Jesus.

I'm going to keep serving a God and King who can, who does and who will make men do what He wants, whenever He wants them to do it. Does He invite and give us choices, that will result in glorious or grave consequences? You better believe it... He says in Proverbs 16:3, “Commit and entrust your life and ways unto the Lord and He will setup and strengthen your everyday thoughts.” Go ahead and make that choice of faith and see if you don’t reap the consequences of His eternal plans and ways.

But whatever you do, don't settle on the lie, that He can't MAKE men and nations do what He wants them to do. C'mon, He's God! If He can't MAKE people do what He wants, He's not God, and you ought to quit praying and asking Him to do what man or you can't do. And, as Jeremiah said, "It's not in man, who walks, to direct his own steps." Our choices are limited to what HAS or IS influencing our lives. There’s NOT one person who one walks to the beat of THEIR own drum... even Jesus was, and had to be, perfectly led by His Father. Someone or something is directing all of our steps. We all make choices, and so does my God. And He often makes choices to MAKE men, which are His creation and accountable to Him and under His authority, do what He wants them to do. And He can... for He is God! And the choice I make is to believe and follow Him. (Joshua 11:20 ; Deuteronomy 2:30)

Thank you for your time...

Check out Pastor Nick’s corresponding audio message, “The Curator of The Cross” posted on January 19, 2019.