The Graveyard Dead

Posted on by korgrocker

“And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man. Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.”
John 5:27-29 NLT

Some ominous words from Jesus. To the Jewish leaders, He said that He had life-giving power and because of that, all those who had died and were in their graves, no matter where they were, would hear His voice. And the result was that they would rise again. I expect the Jewish leaders were seriously looking for a way out of this conversation and were probably regretting that they had bothered to pick Him up for a minor misdemeanour about telling someone, who Jesus had just healed, to pick up His bed and walk. 

Do we take what Jesus said literally? I think we can because He Himself was dead in a grave, and was resurrected. Lazarus, His friend, was dead in his grave and had been there for four days, and Jesus, through His “life-giving power” raised him from the dead. In His own case, Jesus’ resurrected body was superficially just like His old one, but it also had special supernatural powers enabling Him to walk through walls, amongst other things. And then there was that day when He ascended into Heaven. The Apostle John recorded at the end of his Gospel, “This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate. Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written”. All the accounts about Jesus post-resurrection, and recorded in the Bible, actually happened before reliable witnesses, so we can therefore, I believe, take what Jesus said to the Jewish leaders in a literal way. 

So, to all those people who believe that when we die we will experience a transition into nothing – people who are referred to as Annihilationists – are in for a nasty shock if what Jesus said is true. These people believe that there is no after life, with their consciousnesses being extinguished, and their physical bodies eventually returning to the elements from which they were formed. However, such a belief is not supported by Scripture, and Jesus warned people repeatedly that they will eventually be held to account for their sins. God had the power to raise His Son from the dead, and that same power will one day raise everyone from the dead too. Jesus said, “Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment”. The “good” Jesus referred to wasn’t good works – doing things for others that could be defined as being “good” – but the good of believing in Him. Ephesians 2:8-9, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it”. 

When we die, our spirits go to a place of waiting. We know from Scriptures that those who die as believers will go to a place called Paradise (read what Jesus said to the repentant criminal on the cross next to His), or a place of torment (read Jesus’ account of the Rich Man and Lazarus). And then one day everyone who has ever lived will receive a resurrected body. Acts 24:15, “I have the same hope in God that these men have, that he will raise both the righteous and the unrighteous”. After which, there is to be a time of judgement. Revelation 20:13, “The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds”. Jesus very clearly told the Jewish leaders what the results of His judgement would be.

Jesus, the Son of God, came to this world as God’s plan for dealing with evil and sin, and human beings have a choice before them. They either believe in Jesus and receive God’s forgiveness, or they don’t. The outcome of the choice made was made very clear by Jesus in His conversation with the Jewish leaders.

But in the meantime, and while there is still time, we pilgrims have the opportunity to tell people about God’s love and grace, and His plan for their salvation. Surely we owe it to our friends and families and anyone else we come in contact with?

Dear Father God. Please go before us and prepare the way for the conversations You wish us to have with people who need to hear about You. Open their ears, we pray, and help us to say the right words. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Three Things

Posted on by korgrocker

“One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath,”
John 5:5-9 NLT

I wonder what that man did every day, just lying there by the pool? Was his mind in neutral, in a living but comatose state? Or had he made friends with those around him, conversing with them every day? But without any meaningful stimulation, what was his mental state? And who fed him and tended to his personal needs? But the man at the Pool was obviously mentally alert and open to the possibility that he could be healed if he could only get to the water in time. What a tragedy – thirty eight years wasted. 

Jesus asked the man, “Would you like to get well?”, but the man’s response was one describing the practical difficulties caused by his disability. Imagine his limited efforts to crawl or squirm his way to the pool edge to reach the bubbling water before anyone else could get there. Imagine his despair when, once again, someone got there before him. Imagine the constant strain of having to look for the tell-tale stirring of the waters. But along comes the Saviour, compassionate and caring, with three instructions that transformed the man’s life. “Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”” 

There is so much to see behind these words. It wasn’t just the physical healing that made a difference. Once again we see that it is the whole person that Jesus heals. The man’s legs and other parts of his body suddenly had all the muscles, flesh, nerve tissues, and bones restored to them. He would have felt the new surge of energy and the lack of pain, but there was still his mental state that needed to be healed. After thirty eight years his mind would have needed time to adjust to the new situation. But we are told in John’s account that the man was instantly healed. And in accordance with Jesus’ instructions he stood up, rolled up his sleeping mat and started to walk.

People even today sometimes get caught in a rut. It needn’t be a physical disability, like the man at the Pool. It could be one of self pity, or feelings of helplessness through a relationship that has gone sour, or a job that has become full of drudgery or hardship. But Jesus has the words we need to enable us to stand up and move on. He always has a way for us to follow, to get us out of a situation. He always has the words we need to hear in times of stress and anxiety. These words may be difficult to hear and our response may well be one of fear, but through faith we know that God can heal us just as well as He healed the man at the Pool. 

In Romans 8:11, Paul wrote, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you“. We pilgrims, have the Holy Spirit living within us, giving us life and all the resources we need. After all, if the Holy Spirit was powerful enough to raise Jesus from the dead, He will have no problems with whatever ails us. So in faith we bring our problem to the Saviour and respond in obedience to whatever He tells us to do. 

Dear Father God. Thank Your for Your Son, Jesus, who came to this world for our benefit, for our salvation. Your grace and love is endless. Thank You. Amen.

The Resurrection

Posted on by korgrocker

“So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 3:19-21 NLT

To a Christian, the “resurrection of Jesus Christ” must be another of the most significant events in human history. Of course, many will dispute this, but in the context of eternity, few could argue otherwise. It is the foundation stone, the Cornerstone even, to the believer’s faith. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:13-14, “For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless”. Without the resurrection our “faith is useless”. 

Nearly two thousand years ago, Jesus, the Son of God, was crucified. A man innocent of any crime except that He dared to challenge the spiritual authority of the Jewish leaders. John wrote, “He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him” (John 1:10-11). It is astonishing that His life ended up in the way it did. But this was all part of God’s plan. He looked down from eternity at the world’s events and selected a time when His plan would come to fruition. Paul wrote in Romans 5:6, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners”.

So why is the resurrection so important to the faith of a believer? This act of God demonstrates that He is capable of raising a dead person, and not only that, giving Him a resurrected body with special powers. Because of that we can have confidence that through our faith in Him, we too will have a resurrected body one day. God’s power over life and death is absolute.

We should note that the evidence for the resurrection of Christ is indisputable. Paul wrote, “I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). There have been reports of sceptical lawyers who have examined the evidence for the death and resurrection of Jesus, and have concluded that there is sufficient proof to stand in a court of law. 

Jesus knew what would happen to Him. He said to Martha just after Lazarus had died, “ … I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying” (John 11:25). Because we pilgrims believe in Him we too will live with Him after we die. The Apostle John wrote about the significance of Christ’s life. “And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12).‭‭ Paul wrote that death has been conquered and the new bodies we will one day receive will never die. “Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55).

‭‭We pilgrims are a favoured and God-valued people. We have stumbled on a priceless treasure, one without limit. One that can extend to all. Why won’t unbelievers become believers, grasping this priceless offer with both hands? Probably because they take the short term view, valuing a sinful life over the consequences of believing in Jesus. The devil blinds their eyes and silences the inner whisper that leads them to Christ. But their intransigence won’t stop us reaching out to them anyway. Jesus died and rose again for everyone, not just us.

Dear Lord. We pray today for our loved ones, that they too will come to know Your wonderful love and grace. Please help them we pray. Amen.

The Resurrection

Posted on by korgrocker

“Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.”
1 Peter 1:21 NLT

The verse today amplifies a connection between God and man through God’s Son, Jesus. Before Jesus the gulf was too large, as we can see by reading the Old Testament scriptures. The Jews never seemed quite sure about the relationship and ended up by trying to make it rule based, a disaster that spawned people such as the Pharisees. Their attitude to following the rules to the exclusion of all else inspired Jesus to call them out, such as we read in Luke 11:42, “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things”. 

But when Jesus came He ushered in a new order. In Matthew 5:17,20 we read, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. … But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven”! The Old Testament rules and laws were intended to bring righteousness to mankind – if they were followed. God knew that, on their own, even His own chosen people could never become righteous and worthy enough to enter His presence by following a set of rules. 

In his Ephesian letter, Paul wrote, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:4-5). Through Jesus, and our belief in Him, we have the opportunity to achieve what following a set of rules couldn’t. 

Peter wrote that it was through Christ that we can now trust God, and have faith and hope in Him. The rules could never replace the relationship. Jesus came to this earth, becoming the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. And in the process he conquered death by returning to life on that first Easter Sunday. Suddenly, we have nothing more to fear from life’s final enemy, death. Jesus came to this earth as a man, and showed the way back to God, bringing hope to a hopeless world. God loved us so much, so what else can we do but respond to that love and be obedient and play our part in His plan for our salvation. The resurrection of Jesus was the one single event that has changed the course of history. Without the risen Christ there is no faith and hope. But because of the defeat of death, we pilgrims now have a hope for eternity. 

Of course, the sceptics will demand evidence. But that is where faith comes in. That Jesus lived on this planet is evidence based. He was really here. And His sinless life was recorded for posterity by a few faithful men who lived with Him. One of them, John, wrote, “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son” (John 1:14). And in the previous verses John wrote, “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God” (John 1:12-13).

Peter wrote that we can find faith and hope in God because Jesus rose from the dead. And He is now deserving of all the thanks and glory. The greeting “He is risen” is not just for Easter Sunday. It is a reality we can embrace each day of our lives.

Dear Lord Jesus. We thank You for Your ultimate sacrifice at Calvary, and that wonderful event when You returned from the grave. You are alive today and forever. Amen.

Death to Life

Posted on by korgrocker

“So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.”
Romans 4:16-17 NLT

At the time when Abraham ”… believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith” (Genesis 15:6), God had just made the statement that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the number of stars. But Paul pointed out that “Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing”. At this point, Isaac had not even been born – that didn’t happen until Genesis 21. But Abraham continued to believe God that He would supply him a family that would be too numerous to count. 

Do we pilgrims believe that God resurrects the dead? There are of course several Biblical examples. Take Lazarus for example. We read in John 1139-43, the incredible account of his resurrection, ““Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.” Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”” Every time I read this passage I’m struck by its authenticity. All Martha could think about was that there would be the bad smell of a decaying corpse, which would have not taken too long in that warm climate. But Jesus had His eyes on His Father in Heaven, to God who was the Source of the power Jesus needed. 

But what about bringing the dead back to life today, on 21st Century Planet Earth? There are many Christians today who claim that such miracles died out with the original Apostles. But we mustn’t forget that every time a medic resuscitates a person who has suffered a cardiac arrest, we experience an intervention that would have been miraculous in first century society. However, Jesus gave His disciples an instruction, which we can read from Matthew 10:8, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!” The God I worship is all powerful, and is able to perform miraculous acts both through His people and directly. But the reality is that bringing the dead back to life is an unusual event. There is a book “Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts” authored by Craig Keener, that sets out an in depth account of miracles throughout the world since Bible days. Worth a read. But if God performed miracles in Biblical accounts, I fail to understand why He would suddenly stop. In the end, perhaps if we all had faith like Abraham’s, miracles would become commonplace. Paul believed that God could raise the dead, so why shouldn’t we believe that as well?

We pilgrims march through life without really knowing all that much about how things will work out each day and how our lives will end on this earth. But we do have a God who leads and guides us on our journey. And the closer we stay with Him, the more light we will receive to illuminate our paths. We are living in a time of much change. But God never changes. And having “faith like Abraham’s” will take us into incredible places, so be prepared! We’ll finish today with Psalm 71:3. David said to God, “Be my rock of safety where I can always hide. Give the order to save me, for You are my Rock and my Fortress”. 

Father God. You’re an amazing God, full of love, grace and good gifts. We worship You today. Amen.

 

The Once Dead

Posted on by korgrocker

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the One who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭2:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Having finished relaying Jesus’ message to the Ephesian church, the Apostle John now writes to the church located at another town, Smyrna, which was a port on the coast of what is now Western Turkey. It was a city, just across the sea from the Island of Patmos, where John was exiled. Today, the ruins are being researched – the ancient Smyrna is no more. Again, we don’t know what happened to the church there, but at the time John wrote his Revelation we can assume that it was a thriving fellowship of early Christians.

Again, John is addressing the “angel of the church”. Presumably a leader, or the leadership at the church. Perhaps even the very culture, or soul, of this fellowship of believers. And John once again emphasises that the message is coming from Jesus Himself, “the First and the Last”. Just to emphasise the credentials of our Lord, he finishes with “who was dead but is now alive”. 

These last 7 words are earth-shattering in their portent. Not only did the Creator of the universe, our Father God, send His Son, Jesus, to this sad and sorry planet, but He did it to fulfil a plan that would involve His painful death on a Roman cross. A plan that would in some inexplicable way enable mankind at long last to approach their Heavenly Father without all the carry-on of animal sacrifices and priestly rituals. A plan that would enable mankind to receive forgiveness for their sins directly, and to receive the righteousness that God Himself had. No wonder that there was darkness in the land while Jesus was dying. No wonder the temple curtain was torn in two. And we read that when Jesus died, significant physical events, earthquakes, rocks splitting and tombs opening up, all took place. I’m sure the whole of Heaven was looking on, wondering and sad. And the devil was having a party, sincerely believing that he had engineered the destruction of God’s Son. 

But the last word in this verse changed everything. On the third day after His death, the One who was dead, laid cold and still, in a tomb, suddenly came alive. In Matthew we read that there was another earthquake, and an angel appeared, rolling away the stone. The battle-hardened Roman guards shook with fear and fainted. And the angel uttered those words that have echoed and reverberated through the years and centuries ever since, “He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead” (Matthew 28:6). How can we ever imagine the impact that that had throughout the Heavens. The party is still going on in Heaven, because the One “who was dead … is now alive”. The devil defeated. And a way planned out for us pilgrims to join our elder brother Jesus when we cross the Great Divide. What else can we do, like John, than fall to our knees with grateful praise and worship.

Dear Lord. We are deeply grateful for all You have done. Words cannot express how we feel. One day we will have the opportunity to praise and worship You forever. Amen.