Spoiler alert! Jesus rose from the grave with the assurance that all believers will rise bodily with Him on the Last Day. And truth be told, Easter wasn't the first spoiler.
When God's Word went to the cross and made full payment for all our sinful, self-serving, self-seeking activities, and then rose from the dead, Jesus added an "always and forever" to our days and life.
Heaven may seem like a long way off right now, but it is as close to you as a gentle word spoken, a splash of water, a bit of bread, and a sip of wine.
In a variety of ways, even in these troubled and unusual times, we can follow the lead of our Savior, to do everything we can for the life, welfare, and health of our neighbor.
Shaking off our sleep, bright and clear, we will open our eyes and huge smiles will come over our faces as we see the familiar faces of so many friends.
When talking about God’s ultimate destination for us, we’ve grown sloppy in our language, nearsighted in our gaze, and un-Easter in our hope. We act and speak as if dying and going to heaven is what the faith is all about. It is most emphatically not.
The main point Paul has been getting at in Romans is what God has done in the One man Jesus the Messiah—the rightful heir of God’s earthly kingdom—is far, far more than simply putting the human race back where it was before the intrusion of sin.
Give me oil for my lamp, keep it burning . . .
The parable of the ten virgins shows us what it is to be prepared in Christ and unprepared in ourselves.
#iwishwe’dallbeenready
Luke 16, the “Parable” of the Rich Man and Lazarus
Moses and the Prophets speak of Christ. If you don’t believe those words, why would you believe the actual resurrection?