Christ is Alive to Save Anyone

The Resurrection of Jesus three days after He was dead and buried, is a foretaste of our resurrection.

The dead will all rise again

First, all those who lived and died in Christ will rise to receive glorified bodies and to live with Christ eternally. All the others who lived as they wanted and died without Christ will rise to face judgment and be in the place of torment forever.

But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.
(1Cor. 15:20‭-‬23 NLT)

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.
(Rom. 8:18‭-‬23 NLT)

However, it is our personal choice and decision, whether to listen to God or to people, to obey God’s Word or follow tradition.

We ourselves are responsible for our destiny. We must decide it NOW, before we are gone!

We can live,
because Jesus lives!

Why should God let us into heaven?

Have you ever thought of it? Maybe you don’t believe in heaven or hell but the Bible points to these two as the ultimate destinations for us human beings. Ultimately, we are responsible for our beliefs.

God is absolutely holy and we are sinful. The Bible says all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard of holiness (Rom.3:23). We try to cover up with our good works, religion and charity, but the Bible says that our best deeds are like dirty stained clothes (Isa.64:6). The end result is eternal death as Rom.6:23 says. There is no second chance because Heb.9:27 reminds us that after death only judgment remains. This means, whatever has to be done to escape judgment has to be done before death.

God knows our inability to save ourselves. That is exactly why Jesus came, took upon Himself our punishment, died on the cross and rose again. Rom.10:9 says, If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

It means: I must accept that I am a sinner, I cannot save myself and so I am condemned to eternal death.
I must believe that Jesus was nailed to the cross and He died in my place taking my punishment upon Himself. I must repent of my sins and in faith ask Him to come into my life as my Savior and Master. I must confess that Jesus alone is my Savior and Lord and surrender my life totally to Him.

This is my own choice and decision. Nobody else, living or dead, can do it for me. Delaying this decision will be playing with my destiny, for who knows whether I will see tomorrow.

We can express our decision through prayer, saying,

“Almighty God, I agree that I am a sinner worthy of hell. I repent of my sins. Thank you for sending Jesus to take my punishment and die in my place. I believe He rose again defeating sin and death. I now accept Jesus as my only Savior and invite Him to be the Lord and Master of my life. I surrender totally to Him so He can have His way in my life. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

If we are sincere in our decision Jesus will come into our lives as He promised (Rev.3:20) and give us a new birth.
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
(John 1:12 NLT)

Signs of the Times!

“You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!”
(2Timothy 3:1‭-‬5 NLT)

God’s Word said centuries ago that the end times will be perilous and difficult times. If we turn around we can see that we are living in difficult times. We see that people are utterly selfish. They love money more than anything else. Even within the family we see the result of selfishness. Children grow aimless, Godless and characterless. Elderly are left to struggle and suffer. These days for monetary gains we are ready to sacrifice relationships and principles.

We see that people are very boastful and proud. They are proud about their positions and possessions. They boast about their wealth, which is there today and can vanish tomorrow. People are too haughty so they put down and belittle others. They want fame, honour and glory for themselves. They don’t mind taking credit for what God is doing. They even blaspheme the name of God for the sake of social approval and political correctness. They will openly agree that all faiths are equal and you just need to be a good human being. They may go to the extent of bowing to every other deity.

People these days do not understand the meaning and essence of true love. Everyone talks about it. Counselors and gurus project love as the solution for the world’s problems. They conduct seminars on how to love others but people hate each other more than ever. Hate crimes are on the increase. People are revengeful and can not forgive others. Everyone is ready to return insult for insult and even assault for insult. Violence and crime are escalating day by day. Nobody hesitates to slander others. They carry tales to defame those whom they dislike. They don’t feel guilty at all. We burst out in anger with no self control and humiliate others in public. Brutality is what is seen depicted in the daily news.

Public opinion about what is good and bad, right and wrong has changed. People have started calling ‘good’ evil and ‘evil’ good. They can betray their own kith and kin without the slightest feeling of guilt. Those who dream of authority and power are often the worst traitors.

These are days of camouflage. You won’t know the real person until you get close enough. They appear pious and religious but they deny the truth. They don’t love and obey God but they pretend to be Godly and assume to be followers of Christ. They are pleasure loving and teach and preach what makes people feel good.

For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
(2Timothy 4:3‭-‬4 NLT)

Followers of Jesus are instructed to turn away from such people. Are we like these end-time-generation Christians who display a fake Christianity?

The Lord God has told us what is right and what he demands: “See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God.”
(Mic 6:8 CEV)

He is alive!

History has lists of great men and women- conquerors, rulers, inventors, philosophers, leaders, teachers and so on. All of them lived and died. Their final resting places are visited by tourists and pilgrims. But there is only one person, in the entire human history, who lived, died and came back to life. Even today His tomb is lying open as a proof of His resurrection.

The empty tomb is the sign of victory over death, death that is the outcome of God’s justice. God is holy, righteous and just and His justice demands the death of a sinner (Rom.6:23).

God created mankind in His own image with the freedom of choice or free will. He told them the consequences of both aligning with His will as well as going against it, and expected them to honour Him with their choices. Missing this mark was called sin. Mankind failed miserably and inherited suffering and death as its consequences. However, knowing human helplessness God in His infinite love and mercy made a plan to overcome death. So before expelling Adam and Eve from the garden God made a covering for their guilt and shame which was the foreshadow of a later event that would remove sin’s guilt and shame. There began a long drawn enmity between Satan and mankind. Then a promise was made that the son of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. This was again the promise of the ultimate victory of Jesus over sin, death and Satan.

All through history people made wrong choices and aligned themselves with Satan. The Bible makes it clear that all have misused their free will and missed the mark. So the consequences were terrible and ultimately it would lead us to eternal destruction. We are dead in sin and liable to face the justice of the holy God. But God knew that we would never be able to face it. That’s why He promised to crush Satan’s head by sending the Son of the woman.

It happened thousands of years later when God incarnated as the Son of a woman. He lived a sinless life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice fulfilling the justice of God. Now we don’t have to try fulfilling the justice of God, but instead in God’s mercy He is accepting the sacrifice of Jesus as our death. When we personally accept this and surrender to His Lordship, God is giving us the garment of righteousness removing the guilt of sin and shame. Satan tried to crush Jesus’s heel on the cross but Jesus crushed Satan’s head by His resurrection. When He declared from the cross “it is finished”, justice was done and the sins of mankind were atoned for. When He rose from the grave victory was established. Now all those who put their trust in this victory can pass from death to Eternal Life!

So if you want to celebrate victory over sin and death and move on to Eternal Life, come unto Jesus! He is Alive and Able to Save!

The Reunion – for Believers only!

And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.
(1Thessalonians 4:13‭-‬18 NLT)

Death is painful. The absence of a loved one from the routines of daily life is very hurting. Certain objects and spaces in the house will bring vivid memories and tears. They say time will heal. But until then it is agonizing.

The Resurrection

Yet, there is hope for a child of God. Death is the end for an unbeliever, but it’s the beginning of real life for a true believer in Christ. The scriptures say that the dead in Christ will rise from their graves when Christ comes down from heaven in mid air to snatch away His bride the Church. This is a mystery event that is not marked on the church calendar. In fact most churches don’t even talk about it, let alone preach or teach about it. One of the important facts to note about this mystery event is that it is a  “Bride snatching” ceremony, similar to one that happens in a Jewish wedding. The bride of Christ will disappear into the bridal chamber which was prepared for her by her groom. Remember what Jesus said in John 14:2-3?

“There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I wouldn’t tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. After I have done this, I will come back and take you with me. Then we will be together.”
(Jn 14:2‭-‬3 CEV)

The Rapture

This mystery is called the Rapture. The Church the bride of Christ will be raptured from this world. The dead believers rising first and the living ones being transformed and snatched away into the place prepared for them by the Lord. The bride will be with her groom in that chamber for seven days after which they will appear before people for the banquet. Exactly like this, the Church will be with Christ for seven years while the world will go through the great tribulation under the Antichrist. After the seven years we will come down to the earth with Christ for the great banquet in the millennial Kingdom.

The Return

When Christ returns to the earth with his Church He will reign as the King of kings and Lord of lords. Satan will be bound for a thousand years and under the reign of Christ the whole creation will experience the joy and freedom it had been longing for (Rom.8:18-25)

So, if you are a born again believer grieving at the loss of a loved one who had made a commitment to trust Jesus as Lord and Saviour, I would like to remind you from God’s Word that you will be reunited with that person very soon. There is going to be a grand reunion in the mid air where we will meet our Saviour along with our loved ones. God’s Word reminds us to encourage one another with these words of hope. (1Thess.4:13-18)

There’s Hope

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.” (1Thes. 4:13-18 NLT)

1. Believers who died will come with Jesus when He returns (“those who sleep in Jesus”-NKJV)

* Death of the believer is likened to falling asleep

– Figurative use of the word “sleep”

– Sleep is a temporary state from which you will wake up

– This is in reference to the body

* Like Jesus rose again, they will also rise with a glorified body 

Right now they are rejoicing in the presence of God and the company of all the believers who have died.

* We should know this so we won’t grieve like those who have no hope

Grief is there at the loss of a loved one. It pains to realise that you won’t see them around in this world anymore. But as believers in Christ we have this eternal hope.

2. Believers who are still alive when Jesus returns will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

There will be a mass disappearance of believers and non believers will be left behind.

* We will be with the Lord for ever.

3. Encourage each other with these words

People go through bereavement and grief and some find it difficult to overcome. Remind them of these passages from God’s Word. Human words are insufficient to bring peace and comfort. Only God’s Word can do that. Jesus said, “ my peace I give to you”. He is the prince of peace. Let us bring the grieving to the Lord.