Posted on Mon, Mar 24, 2008
Jesus died willingly for our sins. He boasted of His might and authority, and proved that He alone had the power to give up His life, and the power to take it back. “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again
The more I think of Jesus and reflect on what I know about Him, the closer I am drawn to Him. For instance, during this Easter week, as I think of death and resurrection, I can remember clearly three cases of the dead being raised to life in the bible. There might be more. The three instances that I can recall are: the death involving the son of the Shunamite woman in the Old Testament; and the son of the widow of Nain including Lazarus in the New Testament. In all the three examples, as far as I can recall, they each died because of some sort of illnesses. Another shared feature is that though they all were raised from death, none still lives today.
But think of Jesus! Having personally lived before on earth, he died and rose again from death and still lives today. No one ever had this amazing power of death and life. No one ever had power to take His life – Jesus died willingly for our sins. He boasted of His might and authority, and proved that He alone had the power to give up His life, and the power to take it back. “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again”. He stated precisely how He was going to die and the manner of His resurrection. “Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” He told His disciples clearly - though they soon had forgotten- that He would rise on the third day. Thus, He set Himself apart as God. His birth, death as well as His resurrection was foretold. These happened exactly as were predicted.
And after His resurrection, for forty days, He fellowshipped, ate, and communed with His friends and others. He was openly seen returning to heaven. He said he would return for His people. This is the one promise soon to be fulfilled. Again, His birth, death as well as His resurrection was foretold and they are fulfilled.
Without any double therefore, Jesus is coming back. This time, He is not coming to be a suffering king who must lay down His life for our lives again. He is returning as a judge. Two things are sure: The bad, first; those who have not believed in Him and accepted Him into their lives, at His coming will be cast into hell fire and they will burn for eternity in punishment for rejecting God's redeeming love. The way out of this is very simple: if you can read this note, it means you have an opportunity to cry to God for His mercy. Ask God for forgiveness for your sins. If you are sincere, He will forgive you. Thus, you will be spared from the coming and unavoidable wrath of God. Lastly, the good news is that Jesus’ sure return is for "His people," "the redeemed", and "the saved on earth". If you are in the number, no matter your station in this life, then rejoice and be glad. “God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes”. You are sure of eternity with God in heaven where there will be no more sorrows, nor, pain, nor death! I am writing about the certainty of eternity with God - our father, one who truly loves us! This means joy unspeakable and ever grateful praise of our God. Are you in this number? Then, please patiently, occupy until His returns. Hallelujah, Jesus is Lord.
If you have been blessed by this article, please let us hear from you: emaeyak@christdisciples.org
For further reading: 11 Kings Chapter 4, Luke 7: 11-16, Acts 2:22-27, Acts 1:9-11, John 10:18, John 21:12-15, Mark 9:47-48, Luke 16:23, Luke 24:7, Rev.21:14; Rev. 7:17, 11 Peter 2:4.
If you have no church home and or wants to study the bible in a small setting, call us at: (718) 708 5285 for direction.
No messages have been posted.
You must first create an account to post.
