Dy 11. My Resurrection

The Bible teaches a very plain truth about the resurrection of mankind. I learned yesterday of a tragedy. A young man was killed in a traffic accident. He had recently graduated from a Christian recovery program for men who struggled with substance abuse or other life controlling issues. Be sure of this; his new life in Christ was not just a lifestyle change. It was an eternally significant radically altered path of existence. Everyone's life on this earth will one day cease. Yet, 1 Corinthians 6:14 states perhaps the most wonderful truth about the future of everyone who has trusted in the gift of righteousness and the salvation of our souls found only in Jesus Christ when Paul says: "Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power." The resurrection of Jesus is the guarantee of our own resurrection unto eternal life. In Revelation 1:5 John calls Jesus "the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood." Our own eternity rests soley on our position before God in Jesus Christ, and on the truth that what Jesus has done for us, by shedding His blood on the cross to grant us right standing before God, has secured life beyond the grave and a joy lasting forever that is inexpressible! Jesus Promised this to Martha, the sister of Lazarus, a man that Jesus himself called out of the grave 4 days after he died when He said to her “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,"

There is a time to mourn. Even Jesus wept when he heard that Lazarus had died. But Paul tells us that as Christians we do not have to sorrow like the rest of the world. Even though Christians may die, we look forward to LIFE with Christ: perfect life, without sin, without sorrow, without sickness. "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus." (1 Thess 4:14) Can you say today through faith in God's word, I have hope beyond the grave!? You must have this hope, for it is one of those gifts from God that will remain for eternity: "faith, hope, and love." Find your hope in Christ alone! Praise the Lord that though we may face certain death, we may look forward to the certainty of eternal life with Christ. Let sorrow be turned to joy in your heart today.