Posts tagged Jesus

We Learn About Life After Death From Jesus Appearing to His Disciples

Apr26
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Warner Smith

Jesus’ appearances to His disciples following His resurrection, provide us with the greatest window in human history into what our lives will be like after death. Christians should use the days following Easter to remind ourselves about life after death when our bodies are resurrected. While the Gospel accounts were not designed to communicate only these truths, they do provide us with some insight into the characteristics of Jesus’ resurrected body nonetheless.

According to the Apostle John’s account after His resurrection Jesus was capable of walking through locked doors. This means that Jesus’ resurrected body was able to pass through matter. While it is possible and probable that, as the Son of God, Jesus will have much greater power in heaven than any other resurrected person, it is also entirely possible that those whom He raises will share in some of His abilities at the very least.

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘‘Peace be with you!”…26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘‘Peace be with you!” John 20:19;26

This passage teaches me that in our resurrected bodies you and I may very well have the ability to also pass through matter, as well.

Also, according to the Apostle John’s account after His resurrection Jesus had flesh that could be touched and handled, and He got hungry and ate food.

37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.  38 He said to them, ‘‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?  39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.  41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, ‘‘Do you have anything here to eat?”  42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,  43 and he took it and ate it in their presence. Luke 24:37-43

The fact that Jesus has a physical body which can be touched, and is visible, is important because we like Thomas may need to have our doubts settled so that we will not doubt the reality of His resurrection. In addition to proving that He is not a ghost, the fact that Jesus could eat food should not surprise us, because He taught us that in heaven there will be a great wedding feast (Revelation 19:9).

Probably the greatest evidence about life after death for Christians which John records is that there remained continuity between Jesus’ life before His death and Jesus’ life after His death. This is one area where I believe our experience of life after death will differ from Jesus’ at least to some degree. As fallen sinners it would be impossible for our lives on earth to have perfect continuity with our lives in heaven.

19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” John 20:19–23 (ESV)

The reason I make this point is to clarify what some mistakenly believe, Too many think that heaven will be exactly like life on earth, only better. Heaven is not a place where each of us will continue our earthly passions as we please, but is rather the place where God dwells. In heaven we will enjoy God personally and eternally. If you do not currently enjoy and strive to live in God’s presence, then heaven would be hell for you.

Many today believe that in heaven fishermen will fish, the hunter will hunt, the ballplayer will play ball, the golfer will golf, and the baker will bake and each in perfection throughout eternity. Such views of heaven forget an extremely important point. Heaven is God’s house, and those who go to heaven are God’s children, whose desire and experience in heaven is to please their heavenly Father.

In Heaven there is no war, therefore there will be no need for warriors. While I do believe that in heaven we will have tasks and pleasures it is impossible for you or I in our fallen condition, living in a fallen world, to fully and completely comprehend all that heaven will be. Jesus reminds His disciples of the gulf between human knowledge and desire, and His will, when He appeared to them following His resurrection.

25 He said to them, ‘‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”  27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Luke 24:25-27

The greatest difference between our experience of life now and our experience of life after death will be that when we receive our resurrected and glorified bodies this veil and misunderstanding will be no more. One of my professors used to tell me that “in heaven all of us will have our theology corrected.” Sin will be banished and then we will be able to fully comprehend the true length and breadth of what Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection mean to us throughout all of eternity.

Only in heaven will Paul’s prayer, for those who comprised the Ephesian church as well as you and I, be fully and properly answered for every Christian.

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14–21 (ESV)

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40 Days of Preparation Day 33

Apr13
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Warner Smith

Today, Wednesday April 13, 2011, is the thirty-third day of preparing our hearts, souls and minds for the most high of all Christian holy days, Easter Sunday. Today I need to “put off” being inhospitable and “put on” hospitality. I know it may be hard for some to believe, but one of the most hospitable places on earth is the middle east. Those who travel there speak of the wonderful hospitality which they experienced while traveling and meeting those people who inhabit these sometime inhospitable lands. In America those of us who live in th south have taken pride in “southern hospitality.”

The biblical culture valued hospitality and severely punished those who were inhospitable. In the Old Testament the Ammonites and the Moabites, were cursed to the tenth generation for having been inhospitable to the nation of Israel when they came to the promised land, although they were distant relations.

3 “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever. Deuteronomy 23:3–6 (ESV)

It is important for the authentic practice of our Christianity that you and I “put off” being inhospitable and “put on” hospitality. It is with the seriousness of this cultural value for practicing hospitality that Peter’s admonishes Christians to practice hospitality to one another.

8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 1 Peter 4:8–10 (ESV)

We are not to grumble as we are hospitable but are to genuinely care for the comfort and support of each other. It is about this attitude of being exuberant as we practice hospitality that Paul speaks to the Romans.

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Romans 12:9–13 (ESV)

At the risk of alienating you I want to share my observation that in America today we are becoming more and more inhospitable.  In the biblical world being hospitable related to two distinct classes of people: the traveler and the resident alien.

In the original biblical languages these words are sometimes used interchangeably. A stranger, foreigner, alien, sojourner, wayfarer, or gentile are those who do not belong to a particular community or group. In Israel, the law protected the resident alien, a foreigner who had settled permanently in the land. While he could not own land, he could participate in communal activities. The traveler, however, was extremely vulnerable and depended solely upon the hospitality of strangers.

We need to consider Peter and Paul’s admonitions toward our practicing hospitality and our attitudes toward the transients and illegal aliens who live in or pass through our communities today. We may not have invited them but our genuine acts of hospitality could be used by the Holy Spirit to lead them to faith in Jesus.

One thing is certain our being inhospitable to them, or making disingenuous attempts at being hospitable will not positively impact them for Christ.  You and I need to “put off” being inhospitable and “put on” hospitality toward one another, and the transients and illegals in our society.

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40 Days of Preparation Day 32

Apr12
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Warner Smith

Today, Tuesday April 12, 2011, is the thirty-second day of preparing our hearts, souls and minds for the most high of all Christian holy days, Easter Sunday. Today I need to “put off” busyness and “put on” Sabbath rest. You and I live in a time when people go, go, go and seldom rest.  As a culture we have become too busy. God has a remedy to our increasing levels of stress.  His remedy is largely ignored by us, however. We are supposed to take one day of every seven and REST!

There are two passages of Scripture which present God’s reasons for instituting the Sabbath day of rest.

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:11 (ESV)

15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. Deuteronomy 5:15 (ESV)

God’s reasons for the Sabbath rest are:

  1. Because God finished creation in six days, and then rested on the seventh He, teaches us to rest after six days of labor.
  2. They were to rest in order to reflect on God’s ability to work beyond the labors they had already completed. Israel did not deliver itself from Egypt. It could not. When they came to the Red Sea they panicked. They did not know how they were going to get through the waters. But God opened the waters before them.

So these are the two aspects of the Sabbath – creation and redemption. There are two forms of rest.

There is a rest of cessation; a ceasing from our own works; and there is the rest of rejoicing in the mighty delivering power of God. That is a rest of faith in the mighty hand of God.

Jesus spoke of both of these in Matthew 11:28-29.

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-29 (ESV)

Just come, Jesus says, “Come to me.” Trust me. Rest upon what I have already done, and I will give you a rest. This is the rest of cessation. Then he said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,” [this is a process] “. . . and you will find rest for your souls.” In this passage Jesus teaches us that there is a rest that is given and a rest that is found, as we walk with Him. Both of these are components of the Sabbath rest.

Today we need to rely on God’s provision, strength, and grace to carry us through life. Ray C. Stedman (was pastor of Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, CA) taught that Sabbath rest was God’s stress management program.

Burnout occurs from being overstressed. We all need to stop and rest, and learn what God can do beyond what we have done. One of the most successful fast food restaurant chains, Chick-fil-a does not open on Sunday. Although many believe such business models are out of date this chain continues to prosper and expand.

I have learned in my own life to detect certain signs of stress, and that rest is important. Stephen Covey teaches businessmen in his popular 7 Habits of Highly Effective People the importance of what he calls “sharpening the saw.”

Stedman trained himself to take “mini-Sabbaths.” He taught that whenever you feel pressured at any time, try to get a half hour alone. Then:

  • Start by taking ten deep breaths to relax your physical body.
  • Ask God to speak to you during this time.
  • Review your life for the past few weeks: How much you have been driven? What are your pressures and problems, etc. Then ask God to help you put order and priority into your life.
  • Take time to evaluate where you are spiritually.
  • Make some new commitments. Write down those items that you feel are really important.
  • Ask yourself, “If I only had a month to live, how would I spend my time?”
  • Put your focus on God at work in your life.

This is God’s stress management program as taught by Ray Stedman. Today you and I need to “put off” busyness and “put on” Sabbath rest.

 

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40 Days of Preparation Day 24

Apr04
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Warner Smith

Today, Monday April 4, 2011, is the twenty-fourth day of preparing our hearts, souls and minds for the most high of all Christian holy days, Easter Sunday. Today I need to “put off” indifference and “put on”fervency. How often do you see a need which should be met and which you could meet and think someone should do something?  How often do you hear someone say something about which you disagree and think someone should say something? Do you help? Do you say anything? If you answered no, to either question then like me you need to “put off” indifference and “put on” fervency.

The following story underscores why each of our responses when we see human need or hear error are so important.

This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done

Jesus tells us a story that illustrates where our responsibility to others begins and ends.

29 . . . [An expert in the Law], desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” Luke 10:25–37 (ESV)

In this story Jesus teaches us that the love we have for God must be reflected in the way we value and assist all those whom He places along our life’s path each and every day. This service may take the form of mending and caring for wounds, or it might be that we need to correct someone who mistreats another in our presence. Sometimes we may need to stand up for the truth of the gospel in the presence of others. Whatever the circumstances are in which we find ourselves we need to “put off” indifference and “put on” fervency.

In the Bible the word “fervent” means, always ready to speak or act. Of the 12 disciples Peter was by far the most fervent. He was constantly speaking up and taking the initiative. In the book of 1 Peter he directs Christian to “fervently love” each other.

22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, 1 Peter 1:22 (NASB)

The idea is that Christian love is to be active. If we are to go out of our way to serve strangers on the pathways of life how much more should we be willing to be inconvenienced for brothers and sisters in Christ. Read carefully the following passage.

7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 Peter 4:7–10 (NASB)

As we understand that we are either living in the end times or in the end of our time, we are to be fervently loving one another.  This fervent love will be hospitable without complaint and will utilize our spiritual gifts to serve one another as good stewards of God’s grace.

As we prepare our hearts, souls and minds for the most high of all Christian holy days, lets “put off” indifference and “put on” fervency whatever the circumstances whether we see strangers, friends, family or brothers and sisters in Christ in need of our assistance, advice, or admonition.

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40 Days of Preparation Day 22

Apr02
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Warner Smith

Today, Saturday April 2, 2011, is the twenty-second day of preparing our hearts, souls and minds for the most high of all Christian holy days, Easter Sunday. Today I need to “put off” conformity to the world and “put on” transformation in my life. One of the greatest examples of how conformed the average American Christian has become to a worldly lifestyle rather than to living a Christian lifestyle which is transformational is represented by the rising divorce rate among confessing born again Christians.

Why is divorce among Christians a big deal? Sanctity in the marriage relationship is critical to the practice of Christianity. Why? Because marital relations illustrate Jesus’ relationship with His bride the church.

22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His body. 31 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband. Ephesians 5:22–33 (NASB)

The relationship of a husband with his wife is supposed to demonstrate how Christ loves His bride the church, for those who do not believe. The relationship of a wife toward her husband also models the necessary submission which the church must practice to Christ.

Rising rates of divorce within the Christian church reveal that husbands are not loving their wives as Christ loves His church, and that wives are not submitting to their husbands as unto Christ. This results in those who are lost perceiving Christians as hypocrites whose lifestyle is no different from their own. This is the definition of conformity. This is why you and I need to “put off” conformity to the world and “put on” transformation in our lives.

A startling and shocking fact which has much to say about the depths of conformity in American Christianity today has been mined from census data.

The Associated Press analyzed divorce statistics from the US Census Bureau. They found that Massachusetts had the lowest divorce rate in the U.S. at 2.4 per 1,000 population. Texas had the highest rate at 4.1 per 1,000. They found that the highest divorce rates are found in the “Bible Belt.”

The highest divorce rates in America are found in the “Bible belt?”  The lowest divorce rates in America are found in one of the most “liberal” states Massachusetts? Conservative Christians perceive Massachusetts to be among the least Christian states in America. Something is seriously wrong with this picture!

According to the Boston Globe: “The AP report stated that ‘the divorce rates in these conservative states are roughly 50 percent above the national average of 4.2 per thousand people.’ The 10 Southern states with some of the highest divorce rates were Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. By comparison nine states in the Northeast were among those with the lowest divorce rates: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.”

The higher divorce rates in the Bible Belt may be due to the lower percentage of Roman Catholics in the South (Catholics do not recognize divorce). Other reasons may be more cultural than religious:

  • Couples in the South enter their first marriages at a younger age.
  • Family incomes in the South are lower.
  • Educational attainment is lower in the South: One in three Massachusetts residents have completed college, while only 23% of Texans have.

What the statistics reveal is actually worse.

Denomination (by decreasing divorce rate) % who have been divorced
Non-denominational
 34%
Baptists 29%
Mainline Protestants 25%
Mormons 24%
Catholics 21%
Lutherans 21%

Divorce is higher among conservative and evangelical Christians than liberal Christians. Something is wrong with the accepted Christian lifestyle among the church. If the Christian home is a primary tool for demonstrating the morality and authenticity of the Christian lifestyle, then we clearly see the effects of sin and Satanic influence in the Christian home and church.

Religion % have been divorced
Jews 30%
Born-again Christians 27%
Other Christians 24%
Atheists, Agnostics 21%

I believe that the lowest rates of divorce being found among atheists may reveal that Satan attacks those who do not believe with less frequency and vigor than he does God’s chosen people.

During the 1950′s something significant changed in America among my father’s generation (the builders) with regard to their Christian lifestyle which continues to impact our society.

Age group % have been divorced
Baby boomers (33 to 52 years of age) 34%
Builders (53 to 72 years of age) 37%
Seniors (above 72 years of age) 18%

To counter the conformist Christian lifestyle that is currently in vogue among conservative Christians in today’s church requires that you and I to “put off” conformity to the world and “put on” transformation in our lives. We have failed to heed Paul’s lesson.

1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1–2 (NASB)

We “put on” transformation by renewing our mind.  We need to change our worldview!  Rather than thinking that life is all about me, every Christian must accept that the Christian life is really all about Christ! If I cannot maintain the most basic relationship I have with my wife, then the odds are that I will also neglect my relationship with Christ.  Positively maintaining each of these relationships requires me to change my thinking from a worldly selfishness to a Christlike selflessness.

When I do this I prove that God’s will is good, acceptable and perfect. Lets prove God’s will to be good, acceptable and perfect and “putt off” conformity to the world and “put on” transformation in our lives.

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