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Tag Archives: resurrection

Aches, Pains, & Stiffness

27 May

Romans 8:22-23
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Whenever we exert ourselves we are given signs of the mortality of our bodies.  Sometimes every muscle and ligament is crying out to be fixed.  The weight of a heavy box, playing sports, pushing a lawnmower, or the wrong turn of an ankle – it all causes us to experience pain and stiffness.

I have some good news for you.  The day is going to come when this is no longer true.  Jesus Christ is going to return soon for His people.  When He appears we will trade this body in for a new one – a perfect one.  We will have a body like Christ had after His resurrection.

As a part of creation we are all in a state of decay.  The best humanity can hope for is to hold off the inevitable as long as possible.  But the “Blessed Hope” of the church is that those of us in Christ will arise with a resurrected body just like Jesus had.  We will no longer be shackled with the pain of mortality.

Praise God today for the future expectation of glory that we have as believers.  Thank Him for the perfected body that is in store for you.  You can also meditate on this as you go through the day, especially if you’re feeling some aches in your body, knowing that it’s only a temporary condition.

 
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Posted by on May 27, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

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Life from the Grave

26 Apr

John 5:28-29
“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out – those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.”

Yesterday’s post talked about Christ as the Giver of spiritual life.  But, right along those lines, Christ is also the Giver of resurrection life.  In this verse He is giving us insight into His Second Coming.  Actually this is the first time Scripture records Him speaking about His return.

Many people who teach about the end-times don’t even bother dealing with this passage.  If you think that way, then you’ve missed the whole point.  Because this is the first recorded incident in Jesus’ ministry where He mentions the end-times, that makes it important.  No, He doesn’t say a lot about it, but what He does say is at the very core of our belief in the Second Coming.

Jesus explains that there is a day coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and will come out – those who have done good will rise to live; those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.  Unfortunately, we usually miss this key.  It is the foundation stone for everything else that you will learn about the Second Coming of Christ.  Everything else that Jesus teaches builds on this.

The cross is our starting point.  We come along about 2000 years later.  What Jesus is talking about in this passage hasn’t happened yet.  The dead are going to rise and there is going to be a time of judgment with the result being either eternal life or eternal condemnation.

We don’t know when it’s coming, but there will be a resurrection day.  As far as the disciples were concerned, it wasn’t new to them.  Jesus didn’t start with some new doctrine that they had never heard before.  You find teaching on the resurrection in the Old Testament.  Job testifies, in chapter 19 of his book, that he knew about the day of resurrection.

Even in the Old Testament, believers understood that God was not going to leave His people in the grave.  The Pharisees themselves, as a group, believed and taught that one day God would bring about the resurrection of the dead.

The only thing that was new in His teaching was the fact that it will be the voice of Christ that causes the dead to rise.  I’m sure that the Pharisees had some choice thoughts on that subject.  We, however, are given a foundation upon which to build the rest of the teaching on the return of Christ.

It is the Lord Himself who is our resurrection.  It is His voice who will call us from our graves to a place of victory.  This is a day we can all look forward to as believers.  Knowing this, we can live our lives in the hope that only springs from victory over death.  We don’t have to worry about the future.  We are safe in the arms of the Lord.

 
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Posted by on April 26, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

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Death to Life

25 Apr

John 5:24-25
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.  I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.”

It’s obvious that Jesus is talking about spiritual life here, because He says, “has now come”.  It was not future, but was being fulfilled in the days that Jesus walked the earth.  He was really giving the Pharisees a slap in the face because of their self-righteousness.  They were the dead people (spiritually) that Jesus was talking about.  He was basically telling them, “Wake up!  You’re dead and if you want life, you must believe and obey my words.”

It was time for them to hear and live.  Jesus loved them and desired that they would pass over from death into life.  Unfortunately, their pride kept them from accepting Christ for who He was.  Even today pride is one of the biggest hindrances to the move of God in the church.

I think a big part of our problem is not knowing the real issue.  We think that our choice is between God and the devil.  We either look at it that way or make it a choice between good and evil.  The fact is that neither of those choices are what the Lord put before us.  The real choice He gives us is life or death.  As a matter of fact, there may be a “good” thing that I do too often, and it results in bringing death to my spiritual walk.

As long as I lower the standard by “trying to be good,” I will never attain to the abundant life in Christ.  I must seek to let allow the life of Christ to shine through me.  That is what will lift me up to where I should be.

Jesus makes an important point here.  It is the basis of our hope and trust in Him.  Christ is the Life Giver.  This is the foundation for everything else.  We must go to Him if we really want to live pleasing to God.

Spend time with the Life Giver today.  Let the Holy Spirit impart to you the life that only He can give.

 
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Posted by on April 25, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

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What Are You Preparing For?

18 Apr

Luke 24:1-2
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

I just noticed this gem in the Scripture for the first time.  I was reading my Bible this morning and the words seemed to jump out at me.  The women who had followed Jesus’ ministry were very faithful to Him.  They worked to support the ministry while He was alive.

When Jesus went to the cross, they were devastated.  But, they continued to serve Him the best that they could.  This verse says that they prepared spices for His body.  Because Jesus’ crucifixion took place so close to the Passover, they were not able to go through the normal embalming process when He was placed in the tomb.  It was only after the feast was over that they could proceed with it.

This was quite a bit of work on the part of these women.  It involved grinding the spices to a fine powder.  Then they had to crush a resin in a mortar and pestle.  Only after this was done and the spices mixed, could they go to the tomb.

The problem was – all that work was for nothing.  Jesus Christ had risen from the dead!  Embalming spices were not necessary.  The Holy Spirit started to speak to me about our walk with God.

How often do we give up on something – a plan, dream, or ministry – because it doesn’t seem to be working.  We just want to put it out of its misery.  So we go through all the work of preparing for its demise.  Then, to our surprise, God supernaturally brings life to it again.

We need to remember that we serve a God who can raise the dead.  Never give up on a God-given dream.  It may go through a “death cycle.”  But, God is not bound to how things appear on the surface.  Don’t waste your time preparing for defeat, when the Lord’s plan is for your victory.  Let Him have the final say in your situation.

 
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Posted by on April 18, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

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He Is Risen!!!

08 Apr

Luke 24:1-8
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.  In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:’The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'”

Then they remembered his words.

Today is the greatest reason on earth to celebrate.

Let the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ fill your heart, soul, and spirit with the joy that can only come from a life that has been transformed by the power of the resurrection.

 
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Posted by on April 8, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

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