Random Thoughts on the Really Good News

"Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all humanity. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God... And now I commend you to God and to the word of His GRACE, which is able to build you up and to GIVE you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified." (Acts 20:26-32) The revival was over. We had listened to a dynamic speaker for two weeks. During that time there were over 90 decisions for Christ and many other rededications. At one service, everyone there walked the aisle to make one decision or another or to pray at the altar, myself included. At the end of the last service, we had been challenged to "go win the world to Christ, one person at a time, bcause he who wins souls is wise ". Everyone was saying Amen and left fully intending to be a part of a great renewal. The evangelist received a big love offering and off he went to his next scheduled revival. Sound familiar?  Problem was that two w...

"...the ration of Sin is death, yet the gracious gift of God is life eonian, in Christ Jesus, our Lord...if, then, you were roused together with Christ, be seeking that which is above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Be disposed to that which is above, not to that on the earth, for you died, and your life is hid together with Christ in God. Whenever Christ, our Life, should be manifested, then you also shall be manifested together with Him in glory." (Romans 6:23;Colossians 3:1-4 CLNT). The result of sin is death in this eon, but the "gracious gift of God is life eonian" in the next, where we will “be manifested with Him in glory.” "Glory" is our final destiny. Paul speaks of this Glory often in his letters... "...we have the access also, by faith, into this grace in which we stand, and we may be glorying in expectation of the glory of God." (Romans 5:2 CLNT). “Thus also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in cor...

Jesus, the Son of God is the perfect MAN and has demonstrated for all to see what mankind can and will become when they have been born of the Spirt into the resurrected immortal life… “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body…The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust…Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven...this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality...Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:38-54) But until our resurrection… "Now we see a reflection in a mirror; then we will see face-to-face. Now I know partially, but then I will know completely...

" I am still in the land of the dying; I shall be in the land of the living soon. " – John Newton He knew his bible... "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive... I am the resurrection and the life…Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and the grave ... and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." (1 Corinthians 15:22; John 11:25; Revelation 1: 17-18; 21:4)

“ I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. ”  ... “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” ( John16:33; 1  John 5:5) Jesus had earlier told John and the other followers that the will of God was to raise to life all who God had given to him… “… it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day ” (John 6:32-40) Various religions restrict the " those he has given me " to those who join their group. But there is nothing about joining anything. It is about God j...

"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sin according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3) "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross..." (1 Peter 2:24) The bible does not say sin is a debt that needs to be paid to God, but a result of bad behavior. All die as the result of sin - there are no exceptions, not even Jesus. But Jesus did not die for his own sin, but “for our sins" . He “ bore our sins in his body on the cross".  Jesus IDENTIFIED himself with sinful men to demonstrate God’s love for sinners. "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  (Romans 5:8). In the resurrection of Jesus God has revealed that the death of a sinner will be "swallowed up in Victory"  when resurrected - a free gift. "The wages of sin is DEATH but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD.”  (Rom...

It seems to me from reading the Bible that there are three groups of people talked about… Group 1: Hebrew Believers - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants who believed what God told them down through the years, and Group 2: Gentile Believers -All other people who heard from God and believed what He said to them down through the years Group 3: Unbelievers - Everyone else. The destiny of Groups 1 and 2 are to rule and reign with Christ Jesus during the two ages following this present age in which we live. The first age is referred to as the KINGDOM of Heaven and will last 1000 years.  This  age is what Jesus was talking about when he told ISRAEL at his first coming… "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:15) From the Old Testament we know that he is referring to the restoration of the Davidic Kingdom promised to Israel. But only a few in Israel repented and the majority followed their religious leaders and rejected Jesus and ha...

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with the shout of the chief messenger, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Comfort one another with these words."  (1 Thessalonians  4:16-18) So, how does one get “in Christ” ? “…He chose us in him before the creation of the world...In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace...having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will…" (Ephesians 1:4-11) OK, predestined, we are all in.  So what does hearing about it and believing do for me?  It makes me aware of my inclusion in Christ, the good news of my salvation. And the Holy Spirit (the power of God) within me guarantees my inclusion and ...

“Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked declares the Sovereign LORD? Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23) God takes no pleasure in enforcing the wages for sin – death. And the death of the sinner settles all wrongs. But in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus God demonstrated his love as only a loving omnipotent Father can do. He reveals the rest of the story, the resurrection of the sinful child to make him brand new! “So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body….just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man…for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensib...

“But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.” (Acts 5:19-20) What are the “words of this life” that they were instructed to speak to the people? “…they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” (Acts 4:2) The “words of this life” – the gospel – is our resurrection from death through Jesus. Paul speaks of it as if it has already occurred… “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world …deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that IN THE COMING AGES he might show the incomparable riches of his grace...

"If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.  But this He spoke concerning the SPIRIT.”   (John 7:37-39) God is love. We will become the image of God.  The power of love will flow as rivers of living water from us after this fleshly body is destroyed and we have been resurrected a “Spiritual body”… ”So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;   it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in POWER; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a SPIRITUAL body.” (1 Corinthians 15:42-44)   The Holy Spirit is the POWER of God, and love is the most powerful attribute of our omnipotent God. Love is the flowing river of living water now pouring from Calvary. It flows unquenched out of the heart of God through his Son Jesus.   Frederick...

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10) I do not think Jesus was referring to abundant life in this present age. Jesus knew that it is appointed that all men must suffer and die. All mankind are in the process of dying, not living abundantly. Jesus came so that we may have life "abundantly" when he returns to resurrect us to "immortality" . Jesus is the only man who has been raised and now has immortality…. “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive…When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: Death has been swallowed up in victory…which He will bring about at the proper time. He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:22-54; 1 Timothy 6:15-16) We do not have abundant immortal life yet, only the promise of it and...

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God...on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:16-18) "Hades" (hell in the KJV) is the state of people after death. It means “unseen” or “grave”. The word "church" is the Greek word “ecclesia” and means “called out ones”. Christ Jesus is the first to die and be called out of death never to die again, the “rock” or foundation stone of our faith. And he has promised to return and resurrect mankind (call people out of death).  So what the above verse says to me is that DEATH will not prevail for we will be CALLED OUT of death at the resurrection. “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....For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout...and the dead in Christ will rise...Therefore comfort one another with these words” (John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18) Ou...

“Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”  (Romans 7:24) In the hilarious 1980 film Caddieshack, a mentally challenged greenskeeper played by Bill Murray summarizes his situation as follows: "I may not have all, or even some, of my ducks in a row, but they are in the same pond, which is nice, I've got that going for me"  As we watch someone we love, or experience for ourselves what getting older does to our bodies, we sometimes become depressed and find it hard to look for the good in it all.  In this temporary earthly “tent” in which we live, it is our destiny to struggle with sickness, pain and ultimately death. However, the bible promises us a new eternal “house” which will be ours at our resurrection from death. “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians 5:1) It will be “glorious” , not “wretched...

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) How does one get “in Christ” ? And what happens when it happens? Let’s take the second question first.  What happens when one becomes “in Christ” ? 1. He is then a new creation. 2. Old things have then passed away. 3. All things have then become new. My problem with the teaching of mainstream Christianity is its failure to understand that even they, as now constituted, are sinners. And by sinners I am referring to the biblical definition of sin which is  “coming short of the glory of God” . None of us, no matter how many times we repent, walk the aisle, pray the sinner’s prayer, are baptized, or how much we tithe and bless others, are right now a “new creation” . “Old things” have NOT "passed away" . “All things” have NOT "become new" .  We have them now only by FAITH – believing that God will d...

“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said” (Matthew 28:16) Jesus died about 3:00 in the afternoon (Matthew 27:46-50) He was raised AFTER 3 days from the time he was KILLED. (Mark 8:31) He was to rise from the dead IN three days from his BURIAL. (John 2:19) The bible says in several places that visits were made to the tomb on various occasions on the FIRST day of the week (Sunday morning) and the tomb was ALREADY empty. (Matthew 28:16) Jesus said he would spend three days and three nights in the earth…72 hours. (Matthew 12:38-40) Therefore, contrary to popular opinion, Jesus died on a Wednesday at 3:00 p.m., was buried three hours later just before sundown - about 6:00 p.m.. He was raised exactly three nights and three days later just before sundown on Saturday. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were three nights. Thursday, Friday and Saturday were three days. This is not rocket science, just reading and believing the Bible rather than the traditions of men. There was not a “good...

The question of all questions...asked by Job "If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait Until my change comes." (Job 14:14) Jesus gives the simple answer... “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26) The simplicity of those words are overwhelming to me. And the fact that almost all Christians fail to see the simple truth is equally overwhelming. But they read into those simple words the idea that one must believe in Jesus before the resurrection in order to be among those who never die after the resurrection. The Bible says no such thing. “I am the resurrection and the life” Jesus says that the life mankind receives after resurrection is from him. “He who believes in me, though he may die” Jesus says that those who believe in him now will die. “And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” All that ...

“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, We have seen the Lord! But he said to them, Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." (John 20:24-25) Such is the condition of most of humanity, maybe all, including those of us who call ourselves Christians and piously claim salvation as our exclusive possession, condemning everyone else. If we are honest, we would admit that not until we see the resurrected Jesus will our hope become sight, and only then will we, like Thomas, without any doubt whatsoever….believe! “After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, Peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, Reach here with your finger, and see my hands; and reach here your hand and put it into my side; ...

" Jesus answered and said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot SEE the kingdom of God…Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit he cannot ENTER into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. " (John 3:3-6) In the zeal of Christian apologists to have people join their particular branch of Christianity, they have equated the term " born again " with being saved. It amazes me that almost all Christians buy into this teaching when the above passage says no such thing. Jesus was simply stating that no one can SEE or ENTER the Kingdom of God until he is RESURRECTED to spirit from the death of the flesh. Just as we all were born when our mothers WATER broke, so shall we be born again of SPIRIT after we have died and are resurrected to new spiritual life. Nicodemus, like most Christian teachers today thought Jesus was talking about somethi...

“...set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things....When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”  (Colossians 3:1-4). Glory is mankind's final destiny. And we do not have it now except in the form of the promise of God.  It is our hope... “…We... rejoice in hope of the glory of God”  (Romans 5:2). And Glory comes with our resurrection... “…Sown in dishonor… raised in glory…”   (I Corinthians 15:42-43a). In this life we experience suffering from time to time but we can cope with the suffering when we "set our minds on the things above, not on earthly things" - "in hope of the glory of God" to follow... “…The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be…”  (Romans 8:18). As we celebrate Jesus we should not focus simply on a baby in a manger but set our minds o...