THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST: FACT OR FABLE?

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundational truth of the Christian faith.  Take that away, and nothing else matters.  Listen to Paul’s words in 1 Cor.15:13-19.  

“But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”

Can we really believe that Christ arose?  The resurrection of Christ—is it fact or fable?  Here is some evidence to consider from a physician’s account in Luke 24:1-12. 

Fact #1: THE STONE WAS REMOVED. “Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. (v. 1-2). 

This is important for several reasons.  First, it was a massive stone, guarded by armed soldiers, (cf. Matt.27:62-28:4, 11-15).  Secondly, it was not removed to let Jesus out, but the witnesses in, (cf. Mark 16:2-5).  One theory the skeptics put forth is that Jesus only appeared to be dead, and after being in the tomb, revived and came out.  Right…He fooled the professional executioners, who stuck a spear right into His heart.  Without medical attention, He not only survived burial, but got well.  Then He rolled the stone away and escaped the guards.  It is far easier to believe the truth of the resurrection than that kind of nonsense!

Fact #2: THE BODY WAS GONE. “Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus,” (v. 3). The disciples were in no condition to steal the body.  They were terrorized by the events, holed up like scared rabbits.  Then, there was the problem of the stone and the soldiers as we’ve already seen.  Some skeptics suggest that the authorities removed His body, so it couldn’t be stolen.  Had that been the case, and the disciples began to preach the resurrection, all they would have had to do was produce the corpse—case closed and Christianity killed.  But, there was no body!  The tomb was empty and it still is!

Fact #3: THE WOMEN WERE SHOCKED. “And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead?’ “ (v. 4-5).  Still another argument is that the disciples wanted to believe Jesus would be raised from the dead so much that they convinced themselves it was true; the disciples then were delusional, kind of a mass hallucination.  The fact is that none of them expected Him to rise.  The women were going to embalm a body.  They were shocked as any that Christ’s corpse was not there!

Fact # 4: THE TESTIMONY WAS GIVEN. “ ‘He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘ “ ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ” ‘ And they remembered His words. Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. (v. 6-10).  The women heard the incredible explanation from the angels that were there, and they eagerly went and told it.  This is significant also.  In those days, women were second-class citizens.  Their testimony carried with it no credibility in a courtroom.  If you were making up a story—some grand conspiracy—as the skeptics will argue, then you would have had men giving the first testimony and not women!  The only way that women would be chosen is because this is what really happened!

Fact #5: THE STORY WAS REJECTED. “And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them,” (v. 11).  The testimony of the women is met with skepticism.  They did not believe it.  They would not have believed it, unless Jesus really met them and rose from the dead (24:33-43).  The first skeptics were the disciples themselves!  Do you recall the reaction of Thomas to the report of the resurrection? 

“Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ So he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace to you!’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ And Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ ” (John‬ ‭20‬:‭24‬-‭29‬‬).

Then, weigh the witness of the hateful opponent of Christianity’s witness to the Risen Christ, who was converted to a faithful proponent of the Resurrected Lord. Here is what Paul wrote:

“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.” (1 Cor. 15:3-11)  

This is an undeniable transformation of a man who was turned from an antagonist to an apostle, from a persecutor to a preacher. There is no other reasonable explanation for the conversion of Saul the Pharisee to Paul the Apostle except that He met the risen and glorified Christ on the Damascus Road!

As concerning any historical claim—how do we know the reliability of events we ourselves did not observe?  For instance, how do we know there was a real man named Alexander the Great?  How do we know that Columbus sailed to the New World in 1492?  How do we know Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet?  All we have is the testimony of reliable witnesses. Yet, we accept these as facts. So, we can believe the testimony of eyewitnesses, and especially of converted skeptics and haters!

Fact #6:  THE EVENT WAS INVESTIGATED. “But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.” (v. 12). What Peter saw convinced him.  The linen burial cloths were intact—just empty—as though someone had passed right through them!  A grave robber would have torn everything apart.  What a change this produced in Peter—from cowardice to courage.  He was willing to suffer and die for the cause.  People don’t do that for what they know to be a lie.  Nothing can explain this transformation apart from the reality of the resurrection.  

Jesus is still in the life-changing business!  If Jesus did not rise, nothing else matters.  If He did, then everything else the Scriptures claim and command must be taken to heart.  

“ ‘Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.’ ” (Acts‬ ‭17‬:‭30‬-‭31‬‬)

WHO’S. YOUR ONE? Day 31

The Glory to Come

“Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away. Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21:3-6‬ ‭CSB‬‬

These verses are hard to believe because we have only known a world with death, grief, crying and pain. God gives a glimpse of the joy to come when we will finally be with him in the deepest and most intimate way possible. This is what we are inviting people into. As we invite people to come and see, and we share with our one the good news about the One who shed his blood for them, we are inviting them into a kingdom they were created for and a person they were created to know. He promises He is making all things new, and one day His work will be complete. May this picture of his coming reign propel us into our neighborhoods, work places and homes to faithfully share the best news: there is a God who loved them at the highest cost. He gave His life for them, so that they would turn from the evil inclinations of their hearts and find eternal rest in the arms of their Savior. In Him, it is finished. In Him, we find the eternal rests our hearts have longed for.

Pray for the reality of Revelation 21 that is coming. May this moment of being with Jesus propel you to share the gospel with endurance, love and patience. By God’s grace, may we see many more salvations and baptisms in North America in the months and years to come! (From “Who’s Your One?” Devotional, NAMB)

WHO’S YOUR ONE? Day 30

Better Than We Can Imagine

“And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slaughtered, and you purchased people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭5:9-10‬ ‭CSB‬‬

The kingdom of Heaven will be far greater than we ever dared imagine. All of our tiresome, stressful and awkward moments of evangelism will be incomparable when we stand shoulder to shoulder with brothers and sisters from around the world and admire and worship the King. On this day, may we look around and see men and women— maybe even our one—the Lord gave us the privilege of ushering into the kingdom. When we worship Him without the effects of our sin or the brokenness of our world, we will know that this is where we were meant to be all along—with God and with his people.

Pray now that one day your one will be standing with you before the throne of God in worship. (From “Who’s Your One?” Devotional)

JESUS IS THE LIFE OF REGENERATION

 “I am the…life…”  (John 14:6).

Apart from Christ, the Bible describes us as dead in trespasses and sins. We are the walking dead.  Our bodies degrade and decay—we die physically.  Even worse, there is the second death—the Lake of Fire—eternal death, for those who reject Christ.

That is why we must be born again—regenerated and becoming a new creation in Christ!  Jesus is the source of life. It comes through a personal relationship with Christ where we receive Him by faith.

Jesus is not only the source, but the substance of life.  Paul put it this way, “For to me to live is Christ...” (Phil.1:21). The Christian life is Christ living in me—not just a changed life, but an exchanged life. Paul described it in Galatians 2:20,  “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
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Jesus is the source, substance and the sum of life.  When it’s all been said and done, all life is summed up in Jesus—to live eternally with Him.  That’s why Paul could say, “For to me to live is Christ, AND TO DIE IS GAIN.”  [Phil.1:21, emphasis added].

See how Jesus put it, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1-3).

Here is the promise of eternal life “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” (John‬ ‭14:18-20‬)

THE GRACIOUS FULNESS OF DELIVERANCE: A Powerful Liberty

Read John 11:37-44.

Facing death, it is comforting that Jesus cares, but our greatest consolation is that Jesus conquered!  He turned every funeral into a celebration—as He does here.

There was an authoritative cry of command.  It has been well said that if Jesus had not called Lazarus personally, every dead person in the graveyard would have risen!  Some day, maybe soon, that resurrection voice will speak again.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thess.4:13-18).

Those words do comfort us.  We know that in Christ, our loved ones gone before us will be waiting for our arrival. Happy reunion day! We will be fully delivered from suffering, sorrow, and sin! This is the powerful liberty we find in the resurrection. Can you imagine the joyful embrace between the sisters and their brother when Lazarus arose?  This is what we are so eager for!

When our other grandchildren are opening Christmas presents this year, we will miss our little Mya’s squeals of delight. But we will hear her laughter again, when we see her in heaven! My father used to sing much about heaven, but then disease took his music as dementia took his mind.  His voice was silenced when death came.  Now, he sings with the saints in glory and I’ll join him in the song of Moses and the Lamb someday.  “When this poor, lisping stammering tongue, lies silent in the grave, then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save.”  (William Cowper)

Do you have that hope of heaven, firmly fixed in your faith in Christ?

THE GLORIOUS FREEDOM FROM DEATH: A Promised Victory

Read John 11:17-36.

The victory is in the Victor (v.25).  One day, Jesus would not just be raising someone else from the dead—incredible as that was—but, He would lie lifeless in a tomb, dead for days.  The earth trembled and the skies grew dark as midnight, as He died.  The demons laughed in that darkness as the chains of death were wrapped around the Son of God.  Yet, Jesus shattered those shackles, and Light burst forth from the tomb, as Jesus conquered!

As He spoke at Lazarus’ tomb, He knew that time was coming, and would face it unflinching. So may we. Look at the promise (v.26).

The very nature of death has been transformed.  Did you hear how Jesus described it earlier? As sleep (v.11-14).

Sleep is harmless.  We aren’t anxious about it, but anticipate it!

Sleep is restful.  “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ “ “Yes, says the Spirit, “that they may have rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” (Rev.14:13).

Sleep is temporary.  We shall rise!  The body slumbers in the soil, while our spirit soars to God—then comes that great gettin’ up mornin’ when our eternal soul is united with a glorified body!

Death is just moving day.  When I speak of my grandchildren, I say, “I have thirteen—one is in heaven.” My granddaughter Mya is more alive today than she’s ever been.  She’s just in a different location.  She lives because of Jesus!

Have you placed your faith in the Son of God?  You can have that same hope!

I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25)

There are many fears that people face.  There is acrophobia—the fear of heights; agoraphobia—the fear of crowds; arachnophobia—the fear of spiders.  By the time we get to the z’s—we end with zoophobia—the fear of animals.

You might laugh at some of those, but there is one fear that plagues us all—necrophobia—the fear of death.  That grim specter haunts humanity.

It is not only our greatest fear, but our greatest foe—rightfully so.  We all must face it, and we cannot fight it.  Yet, one Man battled it and beat it! Christ has conquered death!  Because He lives, we shall live also.  The story of Christ raising Lazarus from the dead—a story documented in the eleventh chapter of John—will be our focus this week. I hope you will join us for the study each day!

THE BREAD OF LIFE: Jesus as the Sustainer of Life

Read John 6:48-58.

The focus here is provision.  As the Jews fed daily on the manna and it sustained them, so Jesus is to be the nourishment of our soul. Only as we feed on Him can we have satisfaction, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” (v.27).

Consider the context of this teaching.  In chapter 6, thousands gathered to hear Jesus.  They become hungry, and all the food they could find was five loaves of bread and a couple of fish (v.9).  Then Jesus performs a miracle and multiplies the loaves and fish till all are fed and twelve baskets of leftovers are collected—one for each disciple!

The crowd went wild and wanted to crown Jesus as king (v.14-15).  Instead, Jesus walked away. Why?  He had not come to be a celebrity.  He had not come to be a Bread King for people who only cared about their physical life and had no concern for their soul (v.26).

Most people labor for the food that perishes—for the material things of this world. Jesus asked, “For what does it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). You can cram all this world offers into that hole in your soul, and nothing will satisfy you, for it is a God-shaped hole only He can fill.  Augustine said, “Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Thee.”

Taking in Jesus day by day—abiding in Him as our very life—not only is our source of satisfaction, but of strength.  His life produces power and productivity, just as bread sustains our physical life.  Look to Him, lean on Him today; Jesus is your life!

THE BREAD OF LIFE

“I am the bread of life.” (‭‭John‬ ‭6:48‬‬)

Jesus uses seven metaphorical, “I am,” statements that are recorded in John’s Gospel to describe Himself. That Jesus would identify Himself as, “I am,” shows His intention to connect Himself with the great I AM of the Old Testament—that Jesus and Yahweh—Father and Son—are one. Jesus is fully God, and this fits John’s purpose in presenting Christ’s deity. In these final seven weeks of 2019, with God’s help, we will examine each of these, “I am,” expressions. The first is His claim, “I am the bread of life.”

Ponce DeLeon traversed Florida in 1512 searching for the fountain of youth.  That search, though fruitless, was neither new nor novel.  Engraved in the human heart is a desire to live forever. It is the deep hunger of our soul. In answer to that hunger we hear Jesus claim in John 6:51, “‘I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.’”

As bread feeds our body and sustains our physical life, so Jesus feeds our soul and sustains our spiritual life.  When we, by faith, receive Christ as our Lord and Savior, we feed on this Living Bread. This is eternal life. Then, it is our privilege to have a feast on Him, day after day. Is Jesus your Bread of Life?

WHAT THE GOSPEL DOES

It has life-changing power when we believe it.  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”  (Romans‬ ‭1:16‬) This is the SALVATION IN IT.

The good news that God has eternal life for us does not merely mean we go to heaven when we die—wonderful though that is.  The good news is that we receive eternal life as the gift of God the moment we receive Christ.  

There are three dimensions: 

There is the good news of what God has done with our past guilt.  There is a difference between being on parole and being pardoned. If we are on parole it means we are out of jail, but the sentence is hanging over our head still.  We have to keep our nose clean, report in to a parole officer, and if we fail then they take us back to jail.  A pardon means the record of our crimes is blotted out of the books.  It is as though we never did it!  That is what God has done with our sins.  

The second dimension of the gospel has to do with our present grace.  Eternal life is immediately accessible—and eternal life is ours the moment we first believe.  This is the very life of God—not just a quantity of time as in everlasting life, though that’s included—but a quality of life as in eternal life—the presence of Christ within you in the person of the Holy Spirit.  

The third dimension of this good news brings our promised glory.  Yes, heaven is included—and heaven is a wonderful place.  It is a place of breathtaking beauty. The best thing is eternal life in heaven in being with the Eternal God.  He is an infinite Being whom we will explore and enjoy forever.  Our hearts are made for Him and will be restless until we experience Him fully—and that will be the ultimate in everlasting satisfaction!

Have you experienced the life-changing power of the Gospel?

GOD IS PERSONAL

Let’s do some movie trivia.  Tell me what movie series this statement comes from, “May the force be with you.”

That’s right—Star Wars.  Thinking of God as some impersonal cosmic force would come from a movie—it certainly doesn’t come from the Bible.  Star Wars may be good entertainment, but it is bad theology.

God may be above and beyond our highest thoughts, but He is not aloof from us—we are made in His image so we may as persons relate to this personal God.

Whereas, we might consider verses throughout Scripture, we will look in just one book—Psalms—and see some evidences of God’s personality:

• God Thinks.

“He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.” (147:4-5). God is a rational Being.
 
• God Feels.

“The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity.” (5:5)

“God is a just judge, And God is angry with the wicked every day.”  (7:11)

“The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming.” (37:13)

“How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert!” (78:40)
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“For the LORD will judge His people, And He will have compassion on His servants.” (135:14)

Hate, anger, laughter, grief, and compassion are among the emotions God feels.  God is an emotional Being.

• God Wills.

“For the LORD will judge His people, And He will have compassion on His servants.” (115:3).  God is a volitional Being.

Because God is rational, emotional, and volitional, He is also relational. This is the God you should know—and you can know Him through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)

THE ROAD OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Righteousness is a recurring theme in the eleventh chapter of Proverbs. The words “upright,” “righteousness,” “righteous,” and “right,” are found 15 times on these 31 verses.  To this, we might add synonyms such as, “just,” “integrity,” “blameless,” “faithful,” and “good.”  Solomon shares with us the road of the righteous—those who are on the highway of holiness—and where it takes those who travel.

It is often set in contrast to the road going the opposite direction—the way of the wicked.  One leads to God’s favor and the other to His fury.  The road of the righteous is a royal route to heaven and the way of the wicked is the rebellious road to hell.  After all, the crucial thing about a road is not how smooth it is and how scenic it is, but where it takes you.

I recall as a child being in the backseat of the car, late at night as we headed on the way home.  We were going on 74 from Charlotte to Asheville and making good time.  I tried to go to sleep, but the arguing of my father and mother prevented it.  Dad was on the right road, but headed in the wrong direction.  He did not want to admit he was wrong.  The farther we went, the more distant from our home we got.  It was not until he admitted he was wrong and turned around that we would reach our desired destination.

God wants us to have eternal life, abundant life here and hereafter, on earth and in eternity. Jesus said it this way, “I have come that they may have life, and they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10b)

I am so thankful for the day I turned the vehicle of my life around in repentance, as I listened to the GPS—God’s Plan of Salvation.  In fact, I slid over and basically said, in the words of the Carrie Underwood song, “Jesus, take the wheel.”  It does not mean the road may not have some potholes, numerous twists and turns, with the strain of traveling uphill constantly, climbing from the flatlands into the mountains—but, the good news is that at last it will bring me home.

OUR COMMON FAITH

To Titus, a true son in our common faith….  (Titus 1:4a)

Paul, in greeting his young protégé, Titus, uses the expression, “our common faith.”  He does not mean by that, of course, that faith in Christ is a common thing, in the sense of being ordinary and cheap, like finding sand on the floor at a beach house.  No, our salvation is uncommonly wonderful!  Several elements that the Apostle mentions in this first chapter of Titus compel us to be in awe of amazing grace.  What Paul means is that this faith is something that all believers have in common.  It does not matter the country of our birth, the color of our skin, the number of our years, the size of our bank account, the amount of our education, the gender of our sex, or any other category that people put us in—we all have the same salvation—our common faith.  

Our common faith is one that is shared by the elect.  Paul writes of, “the faith of God’s elect” (v.1).  We are saved—not because we earned it or deserved it—but because a sovereign God chose us in sheer grace!  All of God’s redeemed were chosen by God before the foundation of the world, “promised before time began,” (v.2).  While we may not fully understand this, we exult in it!  Spurgeon said it this way, “I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards.”

Our common faith is one that is based on the truth.  Paul speaks of, “the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness” (v.1).  God uses His truth to call us to salvation—no exceptions.  Now, we may only understand a few fundamental matters of the Gospel when we come to faith—that we are sinners, that Christ is the Savior who died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead to bring eternal life, and that by faith in Him we can be saved—yet, the Gospel must be heard and we must acknowledge it.  No one is saved apart from the truth.  This makes us clean—godly and not ungodly in our position—and enables us to live a different lifestyle, progressively growing in godliness.

Our common faith is grounded in the immutable (v.2).  Paul speaks of hope, but not in this way:  “Are you saved?  Well, I hope so!”  That is not what Scripture means by hope.  Biblical hope is a confident assurance that what God has promised, God will fulfill.  It rests on the solid foundation of God’s immutable character.  He “cannot lie….”  It is eternal life for it was a promise made by God that is timeless—given before the world began and guarded when this word is no more!  If you could be saved and lose it—that wouldn’t be eternal!

Our common faith is manifested in the Gospel (v.3).  Who was the “preacher” who shared the Gospel with you?  It may have been your parents, it might have been a Sunday School teacher or Vacation Bible School worker, or perhaps a pastor.  All I know is that God uses human instrumentality to bring His witness to any and all who have faith.

Our common faith is evident in our regeneration (v.4).  Paul calls Titus a “true son,” not a pretender—the real deal.  He was born from above.  “Grace, mercy, and peace” came flowing down from the Father through the Son.  

We all have these in common—every child of God!  How uncommonly fantastic is our common faith!

SHARING THE GLORY

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  (2 Corinthians 5:1)

The Apostle John said it like this, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2)  What a day that will be!  The child of God is promised the ultimate experience—to be face to face with Jesus and in that moment to be changed into His likeness.  We will share in the glory of heaven.  Paul gives us some insight into what it means to share the glory. 

He speaks of OUR AFFLICTION (2 Cor.4:16-18). This old house is in a state of deterioration.  The hand of disease can grab life around the throat and squeeze it out.  But the wonderful promise for God’s children is that as physical strength ebbs, spiritual power increases.  In some fashion, our afflictions prepare us for the glory of heaven.  Often we ask, “Why?” when we see a loved one suffer. I don’t have the solution to that dilemma—ultimately we will understand when we reach eternity.  There are some comforting insights given us here, however.  Paul speaks of light, momentary affliction.  From the human perspective, suffering may seem heavy and agonizingly long, but from the heavenly perspective, where a day is as a thousand years, it is light and brief.  And it produces for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.  God puts His saints in the furnace of pain to refine them as pure gold and mold them in the exact image of Jesus.  “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”  (Rom.8:18) 

 OUR AFFLICTION leads to OUR ANTICIPATION (2 Cor.5:1-8).  Paul was not afraid to die; he was anxious to get home!  This world is not our real home.  This body we live in becomes one day unfit for occupation.  In heaven, we will never have a pain or care.  No wonder Paul said, “To depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” (Phil.1:23)   We sorrow when separated from a loved one, but it doesn’t need to be a permanent separation.  We can see them again in heaven.  

This should be OUR AIM (5:9-10).  Paul’s aim was to be accepted by God.  When death called him into eternity, he wanted to be prepared.  Are you?  Every person who has ever lived will one day stand in judgment before the Lord.  You need not fear that.  You can be assured today of acceptance before God—not based on your own merits, but the finished work of Christ.  There will also be a judgment for the believer.  It will not be a judgment for sin, but for our service.  Our reward will be determined according to our faithfulness to Christ.  All believers will share the glory, but some will shine brighter.  My aim is that when I come to the end of the way, to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.”  (Matt.25:21)  Remember this:  

Only one life; ‘Twill soon be past;

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

THE BREAD OF LIFE

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.  (John 6:35)

There is within every human heart a hunger for God.  God and God alone can satisfy that longing of our soul.  Sadly, many turn to the world to seek to fill that gnawing void.  It is like trying to quench thirst by drinking water from the ocean—the more you drink of that brine, the thirstier you become.  To go into eternity in that condition is to be in a place of unending thirst—without so much as one drop of water to cool the tongue.  Since only God can fill that emptiness, should a man or woman choose a life without God, then He will at death saturate their existence with His absence.  What a horrible thing to contemplate!  It is our choice.  God makes Himself available.  We may feast on Him and have life, but He will not cram Himself down our throats.  We must reach out a hand of faith, take His life into our own—feed upon Him and live forever in heaven with Him.

The Bread that God gives is His Son.  Jesus plainly said that He is the Bread of Life.  In the first century, bread was the basic food staple—the stuff of life.  You could not run to the grocery store and find shelves stocked with a wide variety of food.  The Jews would have equated the two—you have bread and you live; you do not and you starve.  If we feed upon Christ we have eternal life.  He promises to meet the heart hunger and fully satisfy the thirst in our heart—for He is likewise the Water of Life—a Well that never runs dry.  Bread and water—we can survive on that!

It is the privilege of the believer to daily feed upon that Bread of Life.  We come to Him and receive nourishment and strength to sustain us on our journey.  The Psalmist beckoned,

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”  (Ps.34:8)

For eighteen years of my life, I sought satisfaction in this world.  I consumed all I could which appealed to my carnal appetite.  It seemed so sweet to the taste, but was a poison in my soul.  The momentary pleasure of sin that made me salivate with anticipation could never deliver all it promised.  In fact, when the waiter brought the bill for what had been consumed, it cost far more than what it was worth—the high cost of low-living!  In a sense of desperation, I turned to Christ.  I tasted the Bread of Life—and I am so glad I did!  I have found Him to be all that I longed for, and all I could ever need.

Dear reader, please, if you have not received Him, do so today—not as some morsel to sample among a wide-variety of delicacies that this world offers—but as He truly is—life itself!  You will never hunger and never thirst again!

ESSENTIALS FOR ENJOYING LIFE

Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,

Whose hope is in the LORD his God….  (Psalm 146:5)

There is pleasure in sin—that makes it tempting!  Scripture acknowledges this.  It is just that the short-lived pleasures are not worth the long-term price.  The Devil tries to convince us that living for Jesus is the most boring life imaginable.  We are told that God is a Cosmic Killjoy and Jesus came to make our life miserable.  Heaven is one monotonous church service going on forever.  The truth is Jesus said, “I have come that [you] may have life, and that…more abundantly.” (John 10:10)  Admittedly, there is a cost to following Christ, but it is an investment with dividends that are out of this world!  Eternal life starts at salvation and is experienced here as well as hereafter!  It is quality of life, not just quantity of time.  The Psalmist shows the three essentials for enjoying life.

The first essential is HAPPINESS, “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help….  The source of true happiness is “the God of Jacob….”  Do you remember the story of the Prodigal Son?  That young man had a party for a while—squandering his inheritance in debauchery—but when the money ran out, so did his friends and lovers—and he found himself in a pigpen.  It was when he came back to his father that he found forgiveness, love, and a party to surpass all parties!  Thus, when the sinner comes to God, surrendering his or her will to His will that true happiness is found.  This is true, not only for those who have yet to come to Christ in salvation, but for God’s children who stray from His path.  They are the most miserable sinners—for they know there is a better life, and a loving Father chastens them, while the Holy Spirit convicts them. 

The second essential is HELP, “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help….  These words suggest human inadequacy.  The Holy Spirit has chosen to mention Jacob here.  Jacob is the poster child of human inadequacy striving for sufficiency.  He continually tried taking matters into his own hands.  The result was a big mess leading to bigger messes!  Jacob always had a scheme up his sleeve.  His motto was, “God helps those who help themselves.”  That is unbiblical—and a recipe for disaster!  Instead, what we need is to acknowledge our human inadequacy and cry out for heavenly intervention.  In the words of the Beatles, “Help!  I need somebody.  Help!  Not just anybody. … Won’t you please, please help me?”  That Somebody is God!  There came the darkest night of Jacob’s life, where he experienced the final defeat as he wrestled with God.  In desperation, clinging to the Lord, his life was transformed.  God helps the helpless.

The third essential is HOPE, “Whose hope is in the LORD his God….”  We can live without many things, but we cannot live without hope.  Apart from God, we are hopeless (Eph.2:12), but in Christ we can be born again “to a living hope” (1 Pet.1:3).  In the new birth, all things become new—our perspective on this life and the prospects of the life to come are glorious and increasingly so!  Paul wrote in Col.1:27 that it is, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  Even in the storms of life we do not sink for, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…” (Heb.6:19).  Enjoy!

DOUBLE TROUBLE

 

“For My people have committed two evils:

  They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,

  And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.” 

  (Jeremiah 2:13)

There have been times during the course of my ministry that I have ministered to those with severe illness.  Sometimes a pattern develops that leads to their death.  One thing goes wrong—and there is a treatment for it—then another problem arises that also could be treated, except that the medication works against the first condition.  It is double trouble—and before long I am meeting with the patient’s family to plan a funeral. 

Jeremiah was seeing this double trouble afflict the kingdom of Judah.  If something didn’t happen quickly, the nation would die.  Nations are birthed, they decline, and they die.  Here is the solemn warning,

“Has a nation changed its gods,

  Which are not gods?

  But My people have changed their Glory

  For what does not profit.”  (Jer.2:11)

We have recently celebrated another birthday for America, but we look at the worsening condition of the nation and wonder how many more will we have?  God does not change, and if we abandon the Living God for idols we will soon discover that God has abandoned us.  Yet, this is what we are doing.  It is a frightening prospect.

“Be astonished, O heavens, at this,

  And be horribly afraid;

  Be very desolate,” says the LORD.  (Jer.2:12)

Here is the double trouble: we forsake the Lord and His precepts and follow the world and its philosophies.

“For My people have committed two evils:

  They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,

And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.”    (Jer.2:13)

Physically, we cannot survive without water.  Spiritually, God is the fountain of living water—and to forsake Him is to commit suicide—whether it be the self-inflicted death of an individual, a family, a church, or a nation.  God’s precepts in His Word lead us to Him, and we can drink deeply of the life sustaining and soul satisfying truth.  Yet, how many of us leave our Bibles closed, and even in churches encounter little solid Bible teaching?  Still we thirst, and rather than return to the source of life, we may seek to dig our own wells.  Science, education, government, self-help gurus, cults, false religions, and the rest offer solutions.  It is all empty promises—just dry holes.

For such double trouble, there is a “double cure,” to “save from wrath and make me pure.” (Augustus Toplady, “Rock of Ages”)  There is water flowing from that Rock!  The Rock is Jesus (1 Cor.10:4).  We must reject the broken cisterns, repenting of the folly of trying to solve our own problems with the world’s vain philosophies—for that only leads to death—and return to the flowing fountain of life.  That is our only hope!

COMFORT IN CHRIST

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”  (John 14:27)

In a matter of hours, the dreams of the disciples would be dashed.  Jesus would suffer and die—His limp, lifeless body stretched on a slab in a sepulcher of stone.  Knowing the hour was rapidly approaching, Jesus sought to comfort them.  He said in John 14:1-3,

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me   In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Christ gave us peace in our hearts.  How could He talk of peace at such a troubled hour?  Jesus knew that such peace did not depend on outward circumstances, but was the gift of God.  Truly, it is, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding" (Phil.4:7).  It was a favorite word of Jesus.  Time after time, we find the Prince of Peace uttering the words, "Peace be unto you."   We have peace through the Scriptures.  Jesus went on to say, "And where I go you know, and the way you know.”  (John 14:4)  God has spoken with authority concerning the issues of life and death.  We also have peace through the Spirit (John 14:17-18).  The Spirit of God indwells each child of God. He is called the Comforter.  The Greek word means, “One who stands alongside.”  He stands with us that we might stand our burdens.

Christ not only assured peace in our hearts, but the preparation of our home.  Paul said that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor.5:8)—and what a glorious welcome we receive there!  A place is prepared particularly for us.  In the twenty first and twenty second chapters of Revelation, John described the Holy City coming down from God as a bride adorned for her husband. It is a place where there is never a night, and the Lamb is the light.  The streets are paved with gold.  Gates are fashioned of a single pearl.  Walls are made of jasper.  The tree of life bears twelve kinds of fruit, planted beside the river of God that flows from His throne.  It will be a place of no sin, sickness or sorrow.  God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.  We will put on a robe of immortality.  Death for the Christian is just moving day.  It is moving out of the old house we used to occupy, which is no longer fit for habitation, and moving into a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Christ gave us peace in our hearts, the preparation of our home, and, also, a promise of certain hope, “Because I live, you will live also.”  (John 14:19b)  Hopes that withered on Friday, would bloom anew on Sunday!  The source of our hope is in the fact that Jesus is alive!  He has conquered death, hell, and the grave.  The span of our hope is forever—eternal life in glory!  What a blessed hope this is!  No matter what you face today—the best is yet to come!  No matter how dark the hour—the brightest day is going to dawn!

FROM THE GRAVEYARD TO GLORYLAND

even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)  (Ephesians 2:5)

When we are saved we move from the graveyard to Gloryland.  This truth is pictured in the Gospel story of the Gaderene demoniac.  He was a demon-possessed man who lived in a graveyard.  He was violent, uncontrollable, an outcast who was hopeless—but then Jesus came by—and everything changed.  Christ commanded the powers of darkness to leave.  The naked man put on clothes.  The crazed man came to his right mind.  He would leave the cemetery and head for home with a testimony of what Jesus had done for him.  He was a new man with a new mission.  This illustrates the Scriptural principles Paul is sharing in Ephesians 2. 

There is OUR STATE WITHOUT CHRIST (v.1-3).  One word summarizes our state without Christ: dead.  Paul doesn’t say this is the condition of some of us, but all of us.  It is the natural state of man.  Death means separation—not the end of existence.  As the demonized man lived in tombs apart from other people, so we are in a realm of death apart from God—the location Paul refers to as being, “in trespasses and sins.”  Apart from Christ we are like the world (v.2a).  This is the world system with its philosophies, practices, passions and pleasures apart from Christ.  We are like the world and of the devil (v.2b).  If we are not the children of God through a new birth, we are children of the Devil via our natural birth.  Apart from Christ we are like the world, of the devil, and in the flesh (v.3).  We are driven by fleshy desires.  Why does a dog bark and not meow?  What does a cat meow and not sing?  Why does a bird sing and not bark?  That is their nature.  We are by nature powerless to change—and so must be born again. 

Thankfully, there is OUR SALVATION BY CHRIST (v.4-9).  One word communicates the experience of salvation: delivered.  That’s what Jesus did for the demon-possessed man.  Observe, Jesus gave us love (v.4, 7-9).  We were children of wrath deserving Hell, but mercy means we do not get what we deserve—and God is “rich in mercy.”  It is His great love that moved Him to send His Son to save us.  He gave us life (v.5-6).  A resurrection took place.  We are united with the life of Jesus—all He is and where He is!

This leads to OUR SERVICE FOR CHRIST (v.10).  The one word that conveys our service is: disciple.  God call us to discipleship.  We aren’t saved by works (v.8-9), but are saved to work (v.10).  The man set free from demons was given a commission to witness to family & friends.  There is our resource.  God prepared His plan for us beforehand.  God gives grace—we work out what God works in.  The branch abides in Vine to bear fruit.  Our resource brings our response.  No wonder the man set free from thousands of demons wanted to follow Jesus!  “Workmanship” in the original language is “poema,” a life of rhyme and reason.  God has designed you with a special plan in mind.

Have your moved out of the graveyard and into Gloryland?  The work of grace is to move you from death to life.  Receive Jesus today!  He makes all the difference!