Tag: resurrection

Death and Kingdom: Euphemism

THEME WEEK: Death and Kingdom – 1 Thessalonians 4
Old Testament: 1 Kings 19 & 20
Poetry: Psalm 125

I find euphemisms to be imprecise. Usually, they are used to make taboo topics a bit easier to discuss in public, because saying words with plain meanings are just too forward. 

There’s the innocuous “over the hill.” (People just get old, and that’s OK. “Gray hair is a crown of glory” Prov. 16:31)

There are quite a number of euphemisms to describe the most intimate act of marriage, which are understandable, because sex is often uncomfortable to talk about. 

My least favorite are the ways we try to cover over the fact of death. “Passed on” and “crossed over” both imagine death as a journey. When I’m gone, please say “Jake has kicked the bucket”, because that phrase is stupid and I love it. 

But the Bible, strangely, does something similar. Death, the cessation of life, the moment when our bodies cease to self-renew, our brains cease to function, and we cease to exist … is called sleep. 

And this is not uncommon. At the death of David, he was said to sleep and join his fathers. (1 Kings 2:10, compare Acts 13:36) Daniel speaks of those “who sleep in the dust of the earth.” (Daniel 12:2) This is extremely common in the New Testament, starting in the life of Christ, where he speaks of those whom he is about to raise as sleeping and waking up, when they clearly died, like the young woman (Matthew 9:24, Mark 5:39, Luke 8:52) or Lazarus (John 11:11). Some saints, at the death of Christ, were raised to life again, after mentioning that they were sleeping. (Matthew 27:52) The language of sleep is continued by the early church. Stephen, dying a violent death of martyrdom, “falls asleep.” (Acts 7:60) Peter uses this euphemism in 2 Peter 3:4; Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:6, 51, and 1 Thessalonians 5:10.

But, the Bible as the word of God and Christ as the Word of God, teach us something even while using this euphemism. Instead of concealing death from what it is, the Bible and Christ use this as a metaphor that makes more clear what death entails, not less. 

In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul is instructing his dear friends who were grieving the death of loved ones. He wants them to understand their situation, so when he uses the phrase “those who have fallen asleep,” it is used to bring MORE clarity to the subject of death. But, how does it bring this clarity? What does sleep teach us about death? In sleep, when we are at our most tired, we do not dream; we just go down and wake back up, with no memory of the time between. It seems that this is what the lessons we have been going through this week teach us. In Ecclesiastes 9, there is no memory, no work, no knowledge. Death is the cessation of a person but one that is sleep-like. The brain stops firing. Humans are not a kind of spirit-being inside their body but intimately connected to it. So when we die, we cease to be. That is why Lazarus could not tell us about his “afterlife” experience. There was none. And why is it such good news that Jesus was attested by God and raised to life (Acts 2) and how Paul can prove this by the word of over 500 people, and by his own experience, and the continued experience of the church (1 Corinthians 15). Death is not a passage on to a better place, but a time of cessation. When Christ is raised to life, he comes back. That’s good news. 

Death is like a sleep we don’t remember.

Sleep is resting and waiting. 

For some, it is waiting for reward; for others, punishment. 

Daniel 12:2 says in it’s fullness “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Yes, death is a sleep, but like sleep, human death is a sleep from which all will be awakened. But not to a human life again and again, as in Eastern reincarnation, nor a spiritual life in some other place, as with many Western Mythologies. Daniel promises that all people will be raised and judged. We know now that those who are in Christ are those who will receive the gift of eternal life (Acts 2). We are told that whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord (Romans 14:8), and the reason can be found back in 1 Thessalonians 5. Paul twists together the metaphor of being awake with both being alive and being holy, and the metaphor of sleep with both being dead and being unholy. But whether we live or die, whether we are awake or asleep, let us remain spiritually awake and holy (5:9-10), and when the trumpet call blasts out across the cosmos (4:16), we will be raised or we will be changed. That’s good news.

When I have lost family members or friends, people tried to encourage me with the idea of them partying among the angels, or, less vividly, at perfect peace. Very often, people were saying (without meaning to say it), “If you grieve, you wish your loved ones weren’t happy.” However, 1 Thessalonians 4 says that we will not grieve AS THOSE WHO HAVE NO HOPE. Because we know the reality and pain of death, that those who have died are gone from us in sleep, that death was never meant for any of us but a curse from a fall, that it is an enemy that will be defeated, we can live like Jesus. 

At the grave of our friends and loved ones, we can cry. 

Jesus gets that. 

And then, we can take encouragement in the truth that they will one day hear the call of the trumpet, the voice of the archangel, and their Lord, their Savior and their Friend will pull them out of the grave. 

Death could not hold him. 

Death can not hold our loved ones in Christ. 

And, in Christ, death cannot hold you. 

So let’s trade our euphemisms for the euangelion; 

Trade our “nice words” for the Good News. 

-Jake Ballard

Reflection Questions

  1. Can you think of some euphemisms for death that are not supported by Scripture? Where do those ideas come from?
  2. Why does Paul want to correct ignorance regarding death, resurrection and the return of Jesus? Why does it matter what one believes about these topics?
sgl23bibleplanDownload

Destruktion and Sine qua non

Theme Week: Death and the Kingdom – 1 Corinthians 15
Old Testament: 1 Kings 17 & 18
Poetry: Psalm 124

In this devotion I will use words like “philosophical” and “deconstruction” and will even translate a Latin phrase. However, these are not scary concepts, and they are infinitely practical. So please bear with me. This is centrally important.

In our world today, there are many people “deconstructing.” 

“Deconstruction” is a term from Jacques Derrida, a postmodern philosopher, which means, basically, picking apart every idea and belief we have to find the core, deep, central “dialectic”, words that are opposites (e.g., “being” and “nothing”) and hierarchy of ideas (e.g. that “being” is better than “nothing”). In a nutshell, Derrida believed we must pull apart an idea until we see what is at the “bottom”. Derrida believed that at base, every idea had opposing words or thoughts that in turn governed how we thought (like “being” and “nothing” governing our idea of “existence”). He believed these words, in opposition and conflict, were needed to make sense of the world, but we need to be aware of them. 

However, the “Destruktion” of Derrida has changed. 

Today, when people say they are deconstructing, it is almost exclusively of “traditional” Christian values and beliefs. The approach they take to marriage, LGBTQ+ issues, abortion, and other “hot-button” or political topics usually pushes people to reexamine their moral understanding of scripture AND their belief in the factual claims of the Bible. Many have “deconstructed” and no longer believe in large parts of scripture: from famous YouTubers, to our best friends, to some of us reading right now. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Latin, though a “dead” language, is used a lot to convey ideas that might otherwise be clunky. (e.g., “E.G.” comes from “exempli gratia”, or “for example”, which doesn’t really prove my point , i.e., that Latin helps with clunky phrases (“I.E” stands for “id est” or that is.)) 

“Sine qua non” is a phrase that means “without which, nothing”. The sine qua non is the most essential element of any political body, philosophical system, or religious doctrine; if you take away the sine qua non, that thing no longer functions, it ceases to be what it was. 

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul expresses to the Corinthians the sine qua non of Christianity. Paul says that it was of first importance that Christ died for our sins. That he was buried. That he rose. And that he appeared to many disciples. 

However, the rest of the chapter focuses primarily, not on his death, but on the resurrection. Paul indicates a couple things to his readers. 

  1. If there is no resurrection, Christ has not been raised. 
  2. If Christ has not been raised, we misrepresent God, because the Christian faith says God raised him.  
  3. If Christ has not been raised, then we should be pitied above all other people. 

If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and our faith is futile, and we remain in our sins. (v.12, 17) In short, the Resurrection is the sine qua non of the Christian faith. 

Paul is talking to people who were deconstructing. We can almost hear them speaking through the years. “Well, I held to the resurrection for a long time, but I think I have finally given it up. Why believe in something so backwards, so barbaric, so physical? I think it must have been a spiritual raising. Or, possibly, no real resurrection at all, but that the Christ-Spirit that pervades the universe now lives in our hearts.” Paul is saying “you are losing the essential quality of the faith!” This is THE central point!

____________________________________________________________________________________

Today, you or someone you know might be deconstructing for a number of reasons. 

You want “freedom” from the “ancient oppressive norms.”

You want “reality” instead of “naive wish fulfillment.”

You want “truth” rather than “the superstitious ideas of barbaric goat herders.”

But Paul is not claiming that you must believe in oppressive norms that crush the spirit of people, nor is he saying that he believes the reports of people he has never met, nor did he even want Jesus to be raised from the dead. 

Paul, in a book that every scholar agrees comes from his own pen, claimed that he saw the man named Jesus who then changed his life. Then Paul, who had nothing to gain and everything to lose, gave up EVERYTHING, nearly died multiple times, to preach about Jesus to people who would often try to kill him. Paul did this all with sophistication and love that preclude the possibility that he was insane.

The resurrection is a fact. 

Paul is saying that he would like his readers to trust Jesus; not Paul, not the church, Jesus. 

Jesus, the one who gives freedom, because he gives us a new life now and a new life in the world to come. As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 

Jesus, the one who is the bedrock for reality, and the cornerstone of the new kingdom of God. Christ at the end will “reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”

Jesus, the fountain of truth, the one who can say “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

____________________________________________________________________________________

The Christian faith comes with a lot of question marks.

Those hot buttons issues are *hot* for a reason. 

The Bible *is* frustrating. So many people have claimed it says different things! And when we actually read it, often the Bible tells us that the best way to live is the opposite of the way we are living right now.

  Your questions, your doubts, are pulling at your heart because the world is messy. And dark. I’ve been there too. Where questions and doubt are big, and I feel like I am at the bottom. I look up at the questions wondering “why would I hope? could life get better? wouldn’t it just be better if I wasn’t here?” Too much loss, too much pain, too much death. 

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death”

Paul is not playing at wish fulfillment, norms or superstitions. The Jesus he met, the Jesus Christ-followers met, the Jesus the church has met, has led to the fitting conclusion that “death is swallowed up in victory.” Death is no longer victorious. Death can no longer sting. Because we have been given victory. 

I have been given victory. 

And you have been given victory, if you choose to accept it. 

God is not scared of your questions. He is not scared of your doubts. He is not scared of your failures. 

What God wants to do is to give:

To give you victory that conquers your failures. Yes, you’ll still make mistakes, but always moving closer to God rather than in circles of pain. 

To give you hope, purpose, and passion that will bolster your faith in doubts. You may still ask questions, and you will need other people to sharpen your beliefs, but always moving closer to the God of all comfort.

To give you the Spirit who teachings us all things and guides us into all truth in our questions. You will still have questions but it is no longer the project of deconstruction, of “Destrucktion” where every belief is torn down, but where in the end, they are built anew of Christ the Solid Rock. 

In short, “Thanks be to God, who *gives us the victory* through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

-Jake Ballard

(If you need someone to pray for you today, or to hear your questions and doubts, or to tell you it’s gonna be OK, please consider emailing Jake Ballard (jakea.ballard@yahoo.com) or text at (937-561-1000), or find him on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jacob.ballard.336_) or Instagram (@jakea.ballard). However, the best thing you can do, is find a local pastor you trust, and speak to them in person. God bless you all.)

Reflection Questions:

  1. Do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus? If so, why? How would you describe it to someone who has never heard of the resurrection? If not, why not?
  2. If you believe in the resurrection of Jesus, does that prompt you to live your life differently? If so, how?
  3. What is the timeline of events Paul gives in 1 Corinthians 15?
  4. What is the final verse of 1 Corinthians 15 and how can you put it into practice?
sgl23bibleplanDownload

God wins.

Revelation 20

Monday, December 5, 2022

The title of this post is unassuming. Two words: a noun, the subject, and a verb in the future tense. 

I am in the business of speaking, teaching, training, sermonizing. And sometimes (less often than I’d like to admit) I may have a sermon that God uses in spite of all my failures and faults. But if I were to have all the power of the greatest speakers, the powerful conviction of Billy Graham, the clarity and precision of Andy Stanley, the dedication of pastors from Martin Luther to Martin Luther King Jr. and beyond, more than a thousand eloquent sermons could not compare to the truth of the future of the world summed up in these two words. 

God wins. 

I don’t want to take away from that truth, but I do want to flesh it out a bit. 

In the earlier parts of Revelation, the beheaded souls have been calling out from beyond the grave to the God who will give them justice (Rev. 6:9-11). God promised the victors that they would have reward upon reward (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 21). When God wins, those who placed faith in God above even their own lives have the incredible promises. For time out of mind (1000 years) they will reign with Christ, they will not be hurt by the second death. While the language of two resurrections is not common in the rest of the NT*, the truth is that they are SO ASSURED of their salvation its as if they cannot possibly be brought to judgment. The joy of this resurrection is that we who are powerless, weak, poor, and oppressed will one day win, be victorious and live forever with God and his Christ, because God wins. 

And Satan can’t win. The dragon’s wings are clipped, and the serpentine body is prepared for the flames. In this world, God has power to throw the serpent of old, the devil and Satan, and bind him for 1000 years. During that time, his temptation and power are cast down. In the end, the devil who deceived the world was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone. This is a threat and a promise. Moreover, Satan KNOWS this is his end. The battle between God and Satan is not a cinematic, climactic masterpiece. There is no worry about who will win. Satan is not trying to win, because he can’t. He IS trying to make YOU LOSE, because that is a possibility. But God will help you overcome sin, fight temptation, and come through faithful. God can protect you from the defanged, declawed, clipped-wing dragon, because God wins. 

In some sense, part of the glory of God, part of his winning, is allowing humans to choose their outcomes. God allows people to determine their final state. While we are only and forever able to be saved by the glory and grace of God, God both does not force his salvific will upon us and does not preclude us from choosing him. God gives people what they desire. The books are opened; the dead are judged. Christ is our hope (Col. 1:27), our peace (Eph. 2:14), our resurrection and life (John 11:25). If any person has rejected Christ, what have they done but rejected peace with God and people? Rejected hope of eternal life? Rejected the resurrection and the life? God gives them exactly what they demanded. God doesn’t put up with those who were rebellious against him in this life. Because…

God wins.

No ifs, ands, buts. 

No amount of persuasive words will make it less true. 

No force of hell can stop Him, not a dragon or an atheist. 

The promise is true:

God wins. 

– Jake Ballard.

* There are hints of two resurrections in the rest of the NT, but nowhere is it explicitly stated like here in the apocalyptic work of Revelation. 

Reflection Questions

  1. How significant is the phrase “God wins” to you? To elaborate, in what areas of your life are you losing? Temptation and sin? Suffering and pain? Anxiety, depression, stress? What would it mean for you to stop trying to fix it all yourself, and let God win, allowing him to be victorious where you haven’t been yourself?
  2. In the ultimate sense, Satan is powerless. While we might be attacked, tormented, and tempted by evil today, that is not the way the world will be forever. How does it make you feel to know that all evil and wickedness are going to be overcome by the power of God? Will you allow God to protect you, so the battle is one-sided in your favor today?
  3. There is no peace, hope, resurrection or life without Christ. Have you given him control of your life, allowing him to be your savior and lord?
2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading PlanDownload

Time to Wake Up

Daniel 12

Thursday, November 3, 2022

Daniel played many roles in his life including a great prophet of God. We continue to be blessed, inspired and perhaps warned by the writings of Daniel. Not only did he share God’s insights with the kings and people of his time, but today we also see God’s plan unfold in Daniel’s writings. We see the future for those who faithfully follow God. It states, “many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever”.

We read about deliverance for everyone whose name is found written in the book. King David had written of this book of life in Psalm 69:28 and many years later we see the book mentioned again in Revelation 3:5. It states, “He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”

These amazing truths were passed down from one group to the next, sometimes one generation to the next. Daniel faithfully served the LORD at the time and in the place that the LORD set for him. We have that same privilege today. Don’t feel that you are unable or are unqualified to share. You have the message from the LORD through the scriptures and when you walk closely with Our LORD, that is all you need. Share the Good News with those around us. We want to share in the assurance that Daniel had. It states, “then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age.”

-Rebecca Dauksas

Reflection Questions

  1. When you think of the future do you usually think about tomorrow, 5 years down the road, 25 or 50 years from now, or eternity? What part of the future excites you? What part scares you?
  2. How often do you consider the book of life? What are your thoughts and feelings when you do? How many familiar names do you expect will be found there?
  3. How can you lead many to righteousness by sharing the good news? What has God given you to do so?
2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading PlanDownload

I Will Put My Spirit Within You and You Will Come to Life

Ezekiel 37

Sunday, October 30, 2022

This time of year can be a little dark-physically and spiritually.  Days are getting shorter and common themes of shock, terror and death seem to ride in the wake of Halloween. But several years ago, our church decided we could push back and do something positive for our community. So we host a Fall Festival with all kinds of activities for families. This event is a source of excitement for children and a bright spot for a lot of our church family.

The message of Ezekiel 37 is a huge encouragement in the middle of a very dark time for God’s people. They felt depleted and described their situation as “Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.” 

But God is a giver of life! He tells them that He will open their graves and cause them to come up out of those graves. God says that they are His people and He will bring them to the land of Israel.God will put His Spirit within them and they will come to life.

This vision of the Valley of Dry Bones is God’s message of bringing life and hope. God gives us the ability to live in newness of life now, but we also have the promise of the coming resurrection. How exciting to know that there is a resurrection of the righteous someday. We will all have one shepherd and will walk in God’s ordinances and keep and observe His statutes (v. 24). We are so blessed to have the opportunity to have a loving relationship with God in Christ right now and we can also experience the ultimate joy of having God’s dwelling place with us on earth someday. So even when your circumstances may seem dark remember that God abides with His obedient children and lets us know that we are His by the Spirit (1 John 3:24). 

-Rebecca Dauksas

Reflection Questions

  1. What does it mean to you to have life because you have God’s Spirit? Do you have God’s Spirit?
  2. Where do you find encouragement in the middle of a dark season? How can you share that encouragement with others?
2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading PlanDownload

Things that Fade, and Things that Don’t

1 Peter 1

Friday, October 7, 2022

Everything is dying. Your phone’s battery is draining and will need to be recharged. Your phone itself will someday give out or become so slow or outdated that you’ll need a new and shiny one. But that one will die too. Your car will get you places…until it doesn’t. Your body itself will eventually lose its ability to sustain the delicate balance known as life, and will stop functioning altogether. This will happen to you, everyone you know, and everyone you don’t know.

The human race and life on earth are in deep trouble if the wrong supervolcano decides to erupt or if a very large random rock hurtling through space collides with earth. Our existence is a very delicate thing.

Even the sun as we know it is dying. It’s said that in somewhere around 4 to 5 billion years, our sun will eventually begin to die as its hydrogen fuel runs out. It will swell to a red giant and swallow at least Mercury, Venus, and our own planet before becoming a white dwarf.

It’s predicted that eventually the universe itself will expand hopelessly into a cold and dark nothingness of no usable energy. It’s called “heat death” and is a lot like winter, but much worse.

That’s a lot to take in all at once. The realization that everything we know is fading away can lead us to a dark place. It may remind you of Nietzsche’s caution that “if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” What gives? Is there anything that lasts?

“For ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’ That word is the good news that was announced to you.” (1 Peter 1:24-25 NRSV)

Not everything dies and fades away. Peter is telling us that the good news you were given—the word of God—endures forever. To us, the phrase “word of God” can often mean the Bible, but the way the Bible uses it is so much more broad and rich. I tend to think of it as something like God’s life-giving wisdom, through which he created everything. In John 1 we can read about how Jesus, through his life and ministry, became the perfect embodiment of that word among us, carrying on another chapter of something that was always there.

That chapter seemed to come to a close when Jesus was executed. To his followers, it must have felt like all hope was lost. But we know how that story ends up! We are shown there is more to come when Jesus is resurrected. It’s another chapter of this everlasting word. 

As there was more to come for Jesus, there will be more to come for us. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we are given hope and an inheritance that won’t fade away. Jesus is said to be the “firstfruits” of the resurrection, meaning his was the first resurrection, and we’re given confidence ours will be yet to come.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that through resurrection, the dead are “sown” perishable, but raised imperishable. Resurrection transforms things that have perished (or would perish) into things that can’t perish. It transforms the dust of the ground into something new and alive and beautiful. Remembering that Jesus was transformed from a dead man into some kind of mysterious, eternal, resurrected being, we embrace the living hope that someday we’ll experience the same transformation.

As we reflect on how resurrection will transform us, there are hopeful rumblings that it will transform all of creation into a new heaven and a new earth. How mind-blowing is it to think of an entire universe raised imperishable? What does that even look like? That’s such an amazing mystery to think about!

There’s no way for me to know how long I’m going to live, or how long there will be an earth or sun or universe. I do, however, know that God outlives all of those things! If God is around, there is always more to come. There is always another chapter of the word.

So let’s not grasp at the things that are going to die and fade away. Instead, let’s keep our hope in what will last forever—what Peter calls “the living and enduring word of God.”

-Jay Laurent

Questions to ponder

1. What might Peter say our response should be now that we’ve heard the good news (hint: verses 13-16 might offer a good start)?

2. What other things besides the word of God do you think are “imperishable”?

2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading PlanDownload

Something Better

Hebrews 11

Thursday, September 29, 2022

The opening verse of this chapter sets forth the premise of what is to follow: “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen” (v. 1). The author will go through no less than 10 explicit individuals, and mentioning a list of several more, who exhibited faith in their life. And then the chapter concludes by saying “All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us” (vv. 39-40).

The chapter’s conclusion draws together the litany of exemplary witnesses by tying it to the faith that they share with the audience. And while the exemplars of old had not received the promise, it was by no fault of their own, but it was determined beforehand by God that in his grace, he planned for “something better” to be available to the readers that was not available in the past to all those faithful witnesses that were mentioned. And that “something better” was “to be made perfect” (v. 40).

Now, to modern readers the idea of being made perfect might not be the same as the biblical idea of being made perfect. In Hebrews, the idea of “perfection” entails the definitive forgiveness and putting away of sin, purification and consecration to God, and glorification (i.e., resurrection). And so, to be “made perfect” refers ultimately to eschatological salvation that is bestowed on the worshiper through the high priestly ministry of Christ (cf. 10:14).

But let’s think for a moment, why does the author need to go to such a great length throughout the chapter to simply demonstrate that believers prior to the new covenant did not receive what was promised? Why make the emphasis so extravagant?

One reason for the author’s inclusion of such a long description of exemplars of the faith is to celebrate those who stood with faith looking forward to the promise, but yet not receiving it in their lifetime. The testimony of all these witnesses is that “Faith holds onto the promise, even when the evidence of harsh reality impugns its integrity, because the one who promised is himself faithful” (William Lane, Hebrews [WBC], 395).

I think we have all probably dealt with times when we are holding on to faith, but it doesn’t seem like anything is happening or changing, and we didn’t actually get to see the outcome of our faith. This is what it was like for the believers in the old covenant who looked forward to the coming Messiah and the fulfillment of God’s promise. But we don’t have to look forward since Messiah has already come and has begun to fulfill what God promised.

Therefore, while we have not been “made perfect” yet to the fullest extent of what God has planned for those who trust in him, in Christ we have the definitive sacrifice for sin, the cleansing of our conscience, and a taste of the powers of the age to come. Let us continue to hold fast to our faith in hope of what God has promised that is yet to come: resurrection and final victory over the power of death, so that those who stood by faith before us can also be made perfect with us in God’s coming kingdom.

-Jerry Wierwille

Questions

  1. What encouragement do you gain from reading of the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11?
  2. Which heroes of the faith are you most looking forward to being with when we together receive God’s promise and reward at the resurrection and coming Kingdom? Why?
2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading PlanDownload

A Reason to Believe and a Reason to Hope

Hebrews 2

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

I love this chapter in Hebrews! It outlines the very reason that I am a Christian, the reason that I believe in Jesus and follow his teachings. It says in verse 2, that the Lord first declared himself. When Jesus was on earth, he taught in the synagogues and proclaimed to be the Messiah spoken of in the prophecies of Isaiah. He proclaimed himself to be the Son of Man spoken of in the prophecies of Ezekiel. We know that he did because we have the firsthand, eyewitness accounts in the first four books of the New Testament. Here again, the author of Hebrews is adding his account (Hebrews 2:4). More importantly than all of this, God adds his own testimony by performing signs and wonders through the apostles, and even among disciples of Jesus today. It’s for this reason that I believe.

Remember yesterday’s passage that proclaimed the great glory and exaltation of the Son of God. The author tells us to pay attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. Keep that picture that he painted in your mind. The greatness of God himself has been given to Jesus. You have heard what has been said of Jesus from your friends, your pastor, from the gospels and from the Holy Spirit. Hold on to these things; cling to the faith.

In the next section, the author draws our attention to another psalm like in the first chapter, but this time, he uses it to speak of all mankind more broadly, not just the man, Jesus. God is so much higher than we are. We can’t even wrap our minds around what it means to be Spirit and dwell in heaven. And yet, God cares for us mere mortals. We are lower than angels in that the angels are in the presence of God, but it says that all things have been subjected under man’s feet. It’s clear that this isn’t talking about the current state of the world. There are countless things that aren’t subject to man’s authority: disease, death, hunger, poverty and all kinds of injustices. This is just what the author says in Hebrews 2:8. But we do see Jesus. And just like we read yesterday, everything was given to Jesus. He is the heir of all things and is made higher than all the angels. While Jesus was here, he appeared lower than angels, a man mocked and rejected, but now he is exalted with a crown of glory.

Though Jesus was the first to be glorified, he was the pioneer of salvation, he is not alone since salvation is available for all who believe in his name and we all can become sons of God, brothers and sisters of Christ (Hebrews 2:10-13).

This final section of the chapter is poetic and beautiful, but its real beauty comes through the deep truth and hope that it can bring to our lives. Jesus, though he was perfect and blameless, was put to death. In doing so, he destroyed death itself and freed all of us from the slavery of the fear of death. When you believe in Jesus, you are made free because you don’t need to fear death because there is life for all who are sons of God. We saw it first in Jesus. We saw him raised from the dead and ascend into heaven. This is the fate that awaits us as well. We can relate to Jesus in every way even though he is so highly exalted. He suffered temptation, suffering and death, just as we all will, but we have a hope for life that is to come, a hope that is true, because it was attested to us by God, through his son.

-Nathaniel Johnson

Questions for Reflection

  1. What is the meaning of verse 1? What do they need to pay more careful attention to? Why? Is it still true today? Is it still true for you?
  2. How would you explain Hebrews 2 to someone who has never heard of Jesus before?
2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading PlanDownload

How I Do It

2 Corinthians 1

June 18

When people find out what I do for a living (Funeral Director/Embalmer and Deputy Coroner) they usually respond with some variation of the following: “I don’t know how you do it”.  “How do you get used to it?”  Or “I don’t think I could do your job.”  I have never known quite how to respond to those statements.  Saying  “Oh, I think you could”, doesn’t  seem quite right.  Neither does “You’re probably right about that.”

I’ve decided that I’m going to start asking what part of my job, specifically, they think they would not be able to handle.  If they mean they don’t know how I get used to the smells, my answer would truthfully be “I don’t”…  It’s a tough part of the job.  My tongue-in-cheek answer would be “Mouth breathing and repeated formaldehyde exposure have helped.”  (I think I’ve partially embalmed my olfactory over the years of inhalation of embalming chemical fumes).   If they mean they don’t know how I can be a comforting presence when people are grieving, I have an answer for that too.  It is because God has comforted me.

In 2 Corinthians Chapter 1, Paul writes:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (verses 3&4)

When I was 7 years old my infant brother, Zachary, died a few short hours after birth. He was born with a hernia of his diaphragm. I never got to see him alive.  I never got to hold him.  We had a place ready for him at our house,  but we never got to bring him home from the hospital.   Despite what people said, I knew he certainly didn’t get to go to “a better place”.  The first and only time I ever saw him was in a tiny casket in the back of the Oregon Church of God.  Pastors Hollis Partlowe, and a new young minister at the church by the name of Michael Hoffman, co-officiated my brother’s funeral.  Pastor David Cheatwood of the Blessed Hope Bible Church also counseled and  comforted our family in the years that followed.

God,  through the ministry of these three Pastors, my Sunday school teachers and several other  faithful brothers and sisters in our church like Alan and Darlene Shaw,  Dave and Bertha Hixon and Rita Gillette  comforted me.  Through that experience, I learned the fullness of the gospel.  I learned that the gospel was not  merely that there was a perfect man who lived 2000 years ago who was falsely accused and  died on a cross.  The gospel is that, that man, CHRIST JESUS, only needed to borrow a tomb for a few days.  The gospel is, that I will have an opportunity to see my brother Zachary alive someday and walk with him on streets made of gold!   

In mortuary school I learned a lot about caskets.  I learned a lot about how they are made and the proper terminology for each of their different parts.  We had to be able to identify and differentiate between the “ogee” and  the  “overlay”.  We had to be able to explain why a person may want or not want a casket with a gasket.  (Every time I say that, it reminds me of the Dr. Seuss  book “Wocket in my Pocket.”). It would all be very depressing If I didn’t know that in the end, a casket is just a time capsule to be opened at the ribbon cutting of the new Jerusalem.  I picture graves bursting open right before the wedding supper of the lamb.  When I get a person dressed and placed in their casket, I’m really helping one of the wedding guests get their socks on for the party!

In this same Chapter Paul also writes “we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand.” Sometimes we just need to think about that.  If our message is something that cannot be understood, it just might not be Biblical. 

God created perfect people in a perfect garden on a perfect earth.  Sin caused those people to be cast out of the Garden and they lost access to the tree of life.  Therefore we all die.  We all need to consider casket gaskets. 

The entire Bible lays out plainly God’s plan to restore the perfection of his original creation and our access to Him and his tree of life.  The good news is just as Jesus arose from the grave, no casket on the market will be able to hold us when the last trumpet sounds.  We shall rise. 

That is how I am able to do what I do.  Next time you have to make funeral arrangements ask your funeral director about their long term lease programs on caskets.  We won’t be needing them forever!

-Brian Froehlich

Application Questions

  1. When you think of the word “comfort” what comes to mind?
  2. What brings you comfort in times of stress?
  3. What are some jobs you would not want or could not do?
  1. We know we won’t be needing our caskets forever.  If we could lease one until Resurrection day, how long do you think we would need it? 
  2. Are you living like you are expecting the imminent return of Christ?  What would you do differently today if you knew the date of his return?
2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading PlanDownload

Bad Timing?

John 11

April 8

Have you ever questioned God’s timing? How about feeling like maybe God isn’t as concerned about you as you wish he was? Have you ever felt let down by him?

Martha, Mary and Lazarus were friends of Jesus. They knew that he was tuned into God’s will and that he was God’s Messiah. So when Lazarus fell seriously ill his sisters sent for Jesus. Instead of coming right away, Jesus waited days to come. He said,

 “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

I have to wonder if, when they found out that Lazarus had died, if anyone who heard him say that questioned. Could Jesus have been wrong?

When he does finally arrive, Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  Mary expresses the same disappointment. We’re told, When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” They must have felt a bit abandoned by him in that moment.

But I have to imagine that their joy, their utter amazement, when he raises their brother from the dead had to trump whatever disappointment they had felt. In THAT moment, they knew that Jesus was perfectly attuned to his Father’s timing.

In Isaiah 55:8-9 God tells us:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Maybe you’ve questioned God’s timing in those situations where you just know what needs to happen for things to work out. Maybe you’ve had things not work out the way you had planned, or hoped, they would.

The thing about God is that we can trust him even when we don’t understand.

-Susan Landry

Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

  1. Martha and Mary were Jesus’ friends, and they addressed him pretty directly when he shows up after their brother died. Does it seem that Jesus is mad at them for sharing their disappointment, their not understanding, with him?
  2. Do you think we can tell God that we are disappointed with him, or do you think that is inappropriate?
  3. When you are unsure of God’s timing in a situation in your life, what are some ways you can surrender that to him and trust him in the midst of your uncertainty?
2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading PlanDownload