Why the Resurrection Matters

Having celebrated Christ's resurrection yesterday, many folks still have little or no understanding of why it's important. What most Christians don't comprehend is that we would have no hope if Christ stayed in Joseph's tomb and rotted.

The Apostle Paul explained why the resurrection is crucial to us in 1 Corinthians 15:19 (BBE) when he wrote, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most unhappy."

According to Revelation 20:5 and 6 (BBE), we who place our lives in Christ's hand and believe in him will be resurrected, never to die or suffer again. "The rest of the dead did not come to life again till the thousand years were ended. This is the first coming back from the dead. Happy and holy is he who has a part in this first coming: over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will be ruling with him a thousand years."

The resurrection of the dead isn't exclusively a New Testament doctrine. Job 19:26 (KJV) shows how even that ancient believer knew it. "And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:"

We also read in Scripture that the Pharisees and Sadducees argued continually about whether we would rise from the dead. Paul used this truth to his advantage in Acts 23:6 and 7 (BBE). "But when Paul saw that half of them were Sadducees and the rest Pharisees, he said in the Sanhedrin, 'Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees: I am here to be judged on the question of the hope of the coming back from the dead.' And when he had said this, there was an argument between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and a division in the meeting."

And as we read in 1 Peter 1:21 (BBE), Christ's resurrection sustains our faith. "Who through him have faith in God who took him up again from the dead into glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God."

Since Christ's resurrection is the foundation of our faith, I'll stress it in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Without it, Christianity would be like all other pointless belief systems.

Unless our Lord Returns before Thursday, I hope to post about why Christ was called the Lamb of God.

What Will You do With Jesus Christ?

This is a question which Everybody must deal with. I've been blogging about who will be going to heaven for the past year or so and this is the crucial matter. Get it wrong and you're headed for an agonizing eternity. Get it right and you'll be in heaven with all those people through time and space whom God predestinated.

No matter what other religions teach, there is only one way to be with the heavenly Father. Christ explained to Thomas in John 14:6 (KJV) about the only way to God. "Jesus saith unto him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.'"

But how can this be so when other religions say they teach the way to paradise in the afterlife? Only Jesus fulfilled all God's requirements in the law which he gave Israel. Hebrews 4:15 (KJV)states, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

This is why he could say that he was the only way to the Father. As he told Martha when her brother Lazarus was dead for four days, (John 11:25 KJV) "Jesus said unto her, 'I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:'"
Christ will judge every person who ever lived. Look at what John 5:26-29 (BBE) says. "For even as the Father has life in himself, so he has given to the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to be judge because he is the Son of man. Do not be surprised at this: for the time is coming when his voice will come to all who are in the place of the dead, And they will come out; those who have done good, into the new life; and those who have done evil, to be judged.

Will you be with the ones resurrected unto life eternal or condemned to eternal agony? Matthew 28:18 (KJV) says, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, 'All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.'" Since Christ told his disciples this, it shows that we all must obey the gospel. That means we must beg him for forgiveness of our sins and yield control of our lives to him.

I'll be writing much more about this in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? This is thee question we all must deal with.

What's Good About Good Friday?

This month's posts have been leading up to this question. After all, since Christ came to save sinners through his atoning death on the cross, we must understand how vile sin is. We also need to understand why only a sinless, eternal being could fulfill the law which God gave to the Israelites.

The "good" in Good Friday is that Jesus went to the cross for whosoever would believe in him. He could have "chickened out" but he went through with his mission. In Matthew 26:53 (KJV) Jesus said to the disciples and those taking him prisoner, "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?"

Since one angel killed one-hundred-and-eighty-five Assyrian warriors, imagine the carnage seventy-two-thousand angels could do to Jerusalem and the Romans.

Instead, Christ fulfilled the scriptures, not only with his death on the cross but by his birth, life, and resurrection on the third day. As Mark 16:19 (KJV) states, "So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he  was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God."

And what's good about Christ being in heaven? Because he ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit was given by God to we who believe in Christ. As Peter said to the crowd on the day of Pentecost, (Acts 2:33 KJV), "Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear."

Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was given a glimpse into heaven, as Luke recorded in Acts 7:55-56 (KJV), "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up  stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus  standing on the right hand of God, And said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened, and  the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.'"

And having our sins forgiven, we are justified in Christ as righteous. As Paul noted in Romans 8:34 (KJV),  "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died,  yea rather, that is risen again," who is even at the right hand of  God, who also maketh intercession for us."

So what should be our response to such a great gift which salvation is? Paul wrote in Colossians 3:1 (KJV), "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things  which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God."

Because Jesus fulfilled all that the Father gave him to do, he reigns even over death. As he told his disciples in Matthew 28:18 KJV), "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, 'All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.'" That wouldn't have happened if he disobeyed.

I'll include more about the awesome benefits of a surrendered life in Christ in my next book, You Think You're Going to Heaven? Watch this space for updates.

How Would You Like a New Body?

Christianity is unique. Why? It teaches that we will receive immortal bodies. Instead of just being spirits, we'll have tangible bodies to live in and they won't break down once the warranty expires.

People who believe in reincarnation will doubtless disagree with what I wrote here. Even so, the bodies they claim to receive in their next lives are mortal. Only the Bible contains the awesome truth that everybody will be resurrected on the last day, meaning the day when God judges all people whoever lived.

So what will we look like then? I don't know and neither do the scriptures indicate what we will be like. Here's what they do tell us.

We will have physicality. In Job's book, he said that though worms consume his body, yet in his flesh shall he see God. Likewise, the letters written by the Apostle Paul are filled with statements about us being raised up in immortal bodies.

Our new bodies will also be free from the effects of sin. At present, we have a sin virus eating away at our bodies and souls. When we meet Christ in the air, we'll be instantly renewed. We'll live in a new heaven and earth, free from corruption in all it's corrosive forms.

Marriage won't matter then either. Christ told a group of liberal Jewish leaders that we won't marry or be given in marriage but will be like the angels in heaven. Like Hank Hanegraaff pointed out, earth is the breeding colony but heaven is the homeland.

Great Bible scholars like Hank helped me immensely over the years. Read how they straightened me out in my How I Was Razed memoir. You're welcome to contact me regarding this amazing testimony.

BLESSED ASSURANCE IN A TIME OF SORROW.

Have you ever met somebody who continually treated you as a problem person, liable to mess up everything? I had the misfortune of meeting just such a character. This woman, who I refer to as Sister Roberta, was a thorn in my side for more than fifteen years.

From my upcoming How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity memoir, here's an excerpt about how I comforted a grieving grandmother in spite of Sister Roberta's profound misgivings.

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One Wednesday evening, Sister Eileen and her mother seemed preoccupied. As we sat in the sanctuary, awaiting Brother Herald, I asked, "Is something going on?"

Both women looked away from me as if they felt embarrassed. Then Sister Roberta broke the silence. "Little Closius died a few days ago. Linda was bathing him and when she left the bathroom to get a bar of soap, he slipped beneath the water."

"I'm sorry to hear that." I mumbled.

"We're having the funeral here on Saturday afternoon. You can come if you wish but don't ask any foolish questions, all right? I don't want Linda to start crying because of your impertinent questions. The last thing grieving people need is for somebody to ask about how it happened."

Around a dozen people attended the funeral for Jay's year-old son.

"If only I had brought the soap in first," Linda kept repeating to herself. "Why did God have to allow this?"

Words failed me as I shuffled my feet and gazed at the floor. Every answer that came to mind sounded trite.

After Sister Roberta served communion and gave a brief eulogy, she allowed the congregants, two or three at a time, to view Closius' body in Brother Herald's room. This inner sanctum interested me more than paying my last respects as Sister Roberta had always forbidden me to see it. A double-sized bed had been placed in the far corner. Next to it stood a varnished wooden chair and writing desk with a lamp on it. I noticed with some surprise that the small room had no windows in its pale blue walls.

Doing my duty, I glanced at the small, brown casket on the centre of the bed before I walked out of the room.

Linda's mother wept as she followed me out from Brother Herald's room. "Poor baby. I'll never see him again," she sobbed.

"You'll be able to see him again in the resurrection when Christ returns," I blurted.

Instead of upsetting her, as I feared, she exclaimed, "Oh yes, I'd forgotten about that. Thanks for reminding me."

I smiled, realizing that I comforted her with the eternal aspect of our lives.

While the congregation disbursed and Sister Roberta Gave several people driving directions to the cemetery, I asked her, "Can I come too?"

"No," she ordered, "You will stay here with us. Only the family members can attend the burial. You'll just get in the way anyhow."

In spite of this snub, I remained loyal to Thee Church and the supposed truth I learned there.

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How I Was Razed is the testimony of how God revealed his true character to me after charismatic house church elders misled me for more than fifteen years. You're welcome to contact me directly for more information about this upcoming paperback.

The meaning of Easter

To the general public, Easter is a time when chocolate eggs and bunnies appear on the store shelves. While children participate in Easter egg hunts, adults prepare hams for Sunday lunch. Relatives come to visit, taking advantage of the three or four days off from work. Parents foolishly buy children live bunnies that invariably wind up in animal shelters or backyard hutches once the novelty wears off and the rabbits become an irksome chore. Churches traditionally observe Lent as well as Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Through over-familiarity with these activities, the real message of Easter is obscured.

In my Deliverance From Jericho (Six Years in a Blind School) memoir, I recorded my feelings and experiences of being five hundred miles from home for months at a stretch. During two of the three Easters that I was able to be home with my family, I cared little for the resurrection of Christ. It was just a tale that the supervisors and Sunday school teachers ordered me to believe. Being away from the concentration camp, as I thought of that institution, was the best thing about the holiday. When I gave my life to Christ at a Vacation Bible School in August of 1969, all those stories about Jesus gained a whole new dimension for me. Here's an excerpt from my memoir of how the truth of Easter changed my perspective on this holy day.

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Diane and I attended the Church Of the Nazarene's Easter Sunday service. Mom stayed home with Linda, saying that she did not feel like going. Roy was at Red Deer so at least I had a break from his juvenile questions. Now that I was a born-again Christian, the Easter message held special relevance. In years past, it was merely a story like all the others in the Bible. Now I understood the tremendous price Christ paid for purchasing our forgiveness as well as why he needed to die and rise again the third day. I believed in previous years that Pontius Pilate defeated him. Now I understood that Jesus died voluntarily for everybody and rose victoriously on the third day.

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Deliverance from Jericho contains many more vignettes of what life was like in that government-run institution. These range from poignant experiences of homesickness to hilarious incidents of mischief. This 196-page paperback, containing 6 black and white photos, sells for $25.00 through the PayPal-equipped InScribe writers group website. E-mail me for further information or if you don't have PayPal but still wish to place an order.