Good Day, Meetpastordan Readers…I’m in Popi’s New York Diner in Clearwater, Fl. waiting for Pam to completer her new Doctor’s appointment. I have a pretty decent wait, so it seems like a good time to start my blog. This will be a continuation of last week’s posting entitled, “We’re Called to Love Our Neighbor. “How Do I Do That?” Since this series of blogs is targeted for Unbelievers, I want to take a different approach that I hope will speak to those who are not yet in Christ. The upfront approach, and the indispensable approach, is for YOU to make the decision to accept Jesus Christ as YOUR Lord and Savior. “Why is that so important” you ask? Because that act of sacrifice was the price God was willing to pay for YOUR salvation.”
Ephesians 1- 5 substantiates that answer: “You were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying (unbeknownst to you) the devil (satan) – the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature, we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins”, He chose to give us “a second chance at life”, both physical life AND spiritual life. When we accept His “Gift of Grace” (Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord), we are immediately justified in His eyes, meaning our sins are immediately forgiven because we are covered with the blood of Jesus. But there’s more! Now YOU qualify for eternal life because YOU are in Christ!
That is the unconditional, unending, unfailing LOVE that God has for YOU! He was willing to pay YOUR sin-debt with the blood of His beloved Son, so YOU could/can be grafted into His family. This was His plan, even before He created YOU. 2 Corinthians 5:17 explains this process. “You are a new creation in Christ. The old is gone, meaning you are no longer a slave to your sinful nature; the new has come”, meaning the new indwelling Holy Spirit now empowers you to make decisions that bring honor and glory to God.
YOU, My Dear Friend, have just been transformed! Not only did God provide for your eternal life, but the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit means we can be victorious in this fallen world…right here, right now. “And how is that”, you ask? The Holy Spirit will, when YOU call Him into action, become your source of wisdom, courage, strength, perseverance, patience and joy. His purpose is to strengthen YOU to rise above YOUR circumstances and YOUR feelings. In short, He will lead YOU into all truth – God’s Truth!. That last statement is substantiated by Ephesians 1:14: “The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give you everything that He promised, and that He has purchased you to be His own child. He did this so you will praise and glorify Him!” How awesome is that? He has done it all for YOU. All you have to do is accept His Gift of Grace.
This is the beautiful message of the Gift of Grace. It is the eternal gift that keeps on giving forever. For those who are in Christ, it’s yours. For those who forgo this opportunity, this is what you will miss. 1 Corinthians 1:9 tells us, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can conceive what God has prepared for those who love Him.” God is limitless. His love is limitless, and His blessings are limitless. The same way God spoke through the prophet Isaiah to tell us, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, My ways are not your ways. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.”; I believe we can make the same assumption that we, with our finite minds and limited 5 senses, could not possibly grasp the beauty, the power, the grandeur of God’s majestic preparation for our Paradise.
Apostle John, however, does give us a glimpse of what he witnessed in Revelation 21:3-4: “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people. They will be His people and God Himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” He goes on to tell us that “the sun and the moon need not shine, for the glory of God gives eternal light to everything.” (vs.22)
Because Christ died for OUR sins, past, present and future sins (just as the Scriptures said), and He was buried, BUT was raised from the dead on the third day, (just as the Scriptures said), this is what that means for us. Just as everyone dies now because WE ALL inherited the sin-nature of Adam and Eve (the first inhabitants in the Garden of Eden), everyone who is in Christ has already conquered death and has been promised eternal life. (just as the Scriptures said.) This WAS GOD’S PLAN, even before He created YOU!
But some may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have? Apostle Paul addresses this matter. “Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we physically die. These bodies are buried in brokenness, but will be raised in glory; they are buried in weakness, but will be raised in strength; they are buried as natural human bodies, but will be raised as spiritual bodies.” (1 Corinthians 15:43-44) Our natural bodies wear out and give way to pain, sickness and suffering and death. Our eternal bodies, however, are immortal bodies and they will last forever, never again to experience pain, sickness, suffering or death. God has provided for our victory over sin and death by giving us eternal life to enjoy with the Heavenly Host, and our Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
Another question that is frequently asked is this: “Will we see and recognize our loved ones?” When Jesus walked out of the tomb, He was clothed in His resurrection body. He was seen and recognized by Mary, the apostles, and as many as 500 other followers. When we are clothed in our new bodies, should we not expect the same? I mean, how great would be the disappointment if we are to be with our loved ones, but could not recognize them? That is simply not God’s nature. He has blessed us with lavish gifts in this life; no doubt He will reward us with even greater blessings in Paradise.
Paradise and eternal life are our prizes at the end of this race. But what makes our new home “Paradise” is the fact it will be without Sin. We are told in Revelation 21:8, 21 that “unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, liars, and all who are dishonest – their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Nothing evil will be allowed to enter the New Jerusalem! Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life can enter, referring to those of us who are in Christ!
As I said in last week’s blog, “When we come to the end of this life’s journey, the only decision that we made in this life that will matter is this: “Did YOU accept God’s Gift of Grace?” (Jesus Christ as YOUR Lord and Savior.) Romans 6:23 very clearly portrays the result of that decision: “For the wages of sin is death (physical death and spiritual death), but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.) BE WISE IN THIS DECISION. It has eternal consequences, and there are no do-overs.
Feel free to respond to this message, and please share with other social media friends…especially unbelievers.
May God Bless You Abundantly,
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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