Oh Death ─ Oh Grave

Oh Death ─ Oh Grave

Today, we bury my dear Uncle Clyde and sweet Aunt Dottie. It was unimaginable they would move on to their heavenly reward within fourteen hours of one another. (This post was written on the morning of January 17, 2018.)

And it’s good—all good. It’s actually a precious and glorious thing, thanks to Jesus. My cousin, Joseph, their only child, agrees with my inference, for his parents were both abundant in years but deficient in health.  

Some may ask, “Why is it good for someone to die?” Others may inquire, “How can it be a good thing to lose a loved one?”

It’s because death is not the final answer and because my uncle and aunt are not lost. We know where they are. We’re confident their faith was anchored in Jesus who is the Christ—the Son of the living God—Jesus the sinless One, who sacrificed Himself on a cross to take the punishment we deserved for our sins. They are with Jesus, our Savior.

We have confident hope of eternal life—and for good reason. Paul assured Christ followers of victory over death and the grave when he proclaimed:

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immorality.” 

“So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Grave, where is your victory?’ “

“The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. “

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:50-58). Amen! Thank You, Jesus.

Uncle Clyde & Aunt Dottie - December 2012

Uncle Clyde and Aunt Dottie, we’ll be missing you for a little while but we, who are in Christ, will join you some day when our Lord Christ determines it’s our time to move from mortal to immortality. We have a lot to look forward to together in God’s Eternal Kingdom. 

 

©Copyright 2018 Connie Wohlford

After-Easter Musings - Part 1

After-Easter Musings - Part 1

Internet image

Just because Easter was last week end doesn’t mean I must move on to other passages and Bible events. For the past few weeks I’ve been revisiting some of the details surrounding the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. This morning my focus was Matthew 27:45-54.

Above Golgotha, ominous darkness fell over the land. (v. 45) 

Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” (v. 46).

This is the only place in Scripture where Jesus referred to God as “God” rather than “Father.” At this point, Jesus was suffering from the heavy weight of all the sin of all mankind. The Son of God, who was without sin, became sin for us so that we could wear His own righteousness in its place. 

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

It’s a hard saying that God forsook Jesus and, yes, I recently saw the movie in which the God character said that He did not turn away His Son—but was right there with Jesus all along. In my opinion, that’s a soulish, emotional wish which is not biblically sound.

Internet Image

The truth is that at this point Jesus became all of the vile, shameful sin of mankind. Holy God does not tolerate sin and His turning away was a judicial act of a just God. In human terms we cannot completely understand what was happening in these moments. It was a traumatic spiritual and physical experience that Jesus alone went through and Jesus alone was qualified to do. 

I know that Jesus took the punishment I deserved—and you deserved and every human being deserved. In doing so He unlocked the way—ripped open the veil of separation—that prevented you and me from being in full relationship with God, our Creator and Heavenly Father.

We each owed a debt we couldn’t pay and Jesus paid a debt that He didn’t owe. That’s amazing grace!

Commentary in “The Jesus Bible” says “this pivotal moment in universal history, the day when Jesus took away the sin of the world, was not only about the souls of men and women; it was about the very character of God. The cross is the answer to the question above; the crucifixion is the apex of God’s love and mercy but also of his justice and righteousness. At the cross God not only provided the ultimate answer for how a person can be made righteous by faith, but he has also dispensed his justice. At the cross, God poured out his wrath on his own Son so that sinful human beings might be forgiven and granted the righteousness of Jesus’ life. At the cross, the God of righteousness both demonstrates and grants righteousness, for he is both just and the One who justifies.”*

By bearing the burden of our sin, Jesus made a way for us to have eternal life instead of eternal damnation, which we each deserve. This eternal life we cannot earn through doing good things. It is a free gift we accept by believing Jesus is who the Bible says He is—the unique Son of God—and by receiving Him as Lord of our lives. 

*****************************

Verse 50 say that Jesus cried out for the last time. His words are recorded by the gospel writer, John: “It is finished” (John 19:30). Then Jesus gave up His spirit and died. 

Photo by Connie Wohlford

Jesus knew He had completed the work His Father sent Him to do. It was done—mission accomplished. At that moment Jesus chose to release His spirit from His human body. He Himself maintained control the entire time. While He hung on the cross He could have called ten thousand angels to rescue Him and wipe out all who opposed Him. But because of His and His Father’s great love for us, He chose to go through with the torment. He knew this was the only way. He had previously said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).  

Jesus willingly became the once-for-all sacrificial Lamb on that Passover 2000 years ago. John the Baptist called Jesus “the Lamb of God” on the day he baptized Him (John 1:29). Ever since the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, for those who put our trust in Him, the Death Angel passes over.

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

Please comment below if you would like to participate in the conversation.

*”The Jesus Bible, NIV Edition,” Copyright 2016 by Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, p.1751

©Copyright 2017 Connie Wohlford

Is my faith real? Is my relationship with God genuine? PART 2 of 3

Is my faith real? Is my relationship with God genuine? PART 2 of 3

Why do we do what we do? Is it for self-promotion—to please another person—self-satisfaction—obligation? We need to keep our motives under the examination of the Holy Spirit—NOT so He can hammer us but so our spiritual walk can grow and remain wholesome.

[Continued from March 11, 2017 Blog Post]

7 Questions to ask yourself to help you know how genuine your faith and relationship with God really is:

4. Do I love the way Jesus loves?

I don’t know about you, but for me, to love like Jesus loves is a challenge. By nature, I’m not a critical person and I usually tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. But I have to admit that to love everyone with the Jesus kind of self-sacrificing agapé love is a tall order.

We know from Scripture that Jesus is one with God (John 10:30; Colossians 2”9). We also know that God loves all people with unfailing, unconditional love. Even greater than that—God is love. 

Those of us who grew up going to church have heard, all our lives, “God is love.” Contemplate that statement for a moment—“God is love.”

The apostle, John, gives good detail and instruction to the body of Christ regarding God’s love. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸ He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:7-11 NKJV).

God is the origin of love and is the source of love.

For those of us who are in Christ—that is born-again followers of Jesus—God is our Father and, as we much as are willing, His attributes can become our own. The ability to love like Jesus is one of them. The Holy Spirit in us is our enabler, thus it’s not just an insincere forced act. 

It’s hard to love a person who dislikes us, tries to harm us, or disagrees with us coming and going—just to name a few scenarios. I’ve experienced all these situations in my own life and have found that it really helps to sincerely ask God to help me see these people as He sees them. 

Many times God has shown me things that have caused my heart to break and initiated compassion for individuals which would not have been possible in my own self-determination.  

In John’s passage about love, he went on to say, “No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. ¹³ By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. ¹⁵ Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. ¹⁹ We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:12-19).

As we get to know God better and mature in faith and trust in Him, we will naturally have greater love for Him and for others. We will abide in Him, abide in love, and His love will be perfected in us.

Let God’s love be perfected in me.

So, as I ask myself how genuine my relationship is with God, I must take a close look at how well I love others.

5. Do I really have faith in God?

The Bible says that without faith it’s impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). By all means, as followers of Christ, we want to please God!

Maybe we should each ask, “Where’s the evidence of my faith?”

We need to first believe in Jesus—that He is who the Bible says He is—that He is the only begotten Son of God who did all the things the Bible tells us. We need to be confident that He spoke truth when He said, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 NKJV).

Because of God’s great love and in spite of man’s sinful ways, God gave His Son, Jesus, as a sacrificial atonement for our sins. This is God’s amazing grace toward us, making a way for restoration. But we must open our hearts and receive this gift of grace.

When we open our hearts and say, “Yes,” to Jesus we’re expressing faith in Him. “For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8a).

This salvation experience is the launching pad of our faith walk. How we grow and where we go from there depends on each of us individually. Do I want to be a person of weak faith, mediocre faith, or great faith?

“Great faith” is what Jesus called the faith of a Roman soldier in the Gospel of Matthew. This unnamed centurion came to Jesus regarding the severe illness of one of his servants. 

Jesus said, “I will come and heal him” (Matthew 8:7 NKJV).

The centurion’s response was quite surprising and showed great confidence—faith—in Jesus. He told the Lord that He didn’t need to bother to go to his house—that he wasn’t worthy of having Christ under his roof. 

He said, “But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed” (Matthew 8:8).
Jesus marveled that the man had such faith and said, “’Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you’ and his servant was healed that same hour” (Matthew 8:10).

I would love for Jesus to describe me as a person of “great faith.” Wouldn’t you?
Let’s ask ourselves, “How much do I trust Jesus?”

How much we trust Jesus is a good indicator of our faith. As we read and study the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, plus the Book of Acts, we get to know Jesus better and better. As we get to know Jesus better, we find that He is trustworthy. To know Him is to trust Him.

As we trust Him more we will walk in obedience to the things He say to us—the things He tells us to do. This is different for each of us as I described in Part 1 of this blog series.  

I spoke of our ILP (Individualized Life Plan). In order to walk out our God ordained ILP we’ll be taking some risks and will often find ourselves outside of our comfort zones.

In this we see evidence of having faith in God and in Jesus, our Savior and Lord. Again I want to refer back to Part 1 where I wrote about How to walk in obedience to God. The same strategies hold true for growing in faith. I repeat, (from Part 1):

The best way to know what that (ILP) is is to get to know God through His Word and to spend quality time with Him in prayer—listening to Him as well as talking to Him. In addition to that, we need to be in fellowship with other Believers by connecting with a good Bible believing church, sitting under sound biblical teaching.

In addition to these things, we need the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit to give us the courage and power to follow through. When we believe and receive Jesus as our Savior the Holy Spirit moved into our own spirit to help us in all things.

Surely we don’t want to have the same level of faith today that we had yesterday, or two years ago, or twenty years ago. And surely we’d like to see ourselves with greater levels of faith tomorrow than today. Think of the example we set for our children and, grandchildren, and others in our sphere of influence.

Let’s revisit the question: “Do I really have faith in God?” Consider your answer.

When we believe God has instructed us to do something and then we do it, we are showing faith. As we do this thing, the greater the risk, the greater our faith—especially if this thing is completely out of our comfort zone.

When we go through trial and tragedy yet lean on the Lord, our faith is evident. When we confidently say, “I’m believing God,” we’re expressing faith. 

Please join me in declaring: “I want to walk by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). I want to walk on water in the midst of the storm (Matthew 14:29). When I reach my final destiny, I want to hear the words ‘Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21).’” 

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5).

As we continue to contemplate the original questions: “Is my firth real?” AND “Is my relationship with God genuine?” we need to consider our responses to the questions: “4. Do I love the way Jesus loves” AND ”5. Do I really have faith in God?”

 

Please prayerfully ponder your answers and search God through prayer and His Word for His response to your answers. I’m doing the same thing.

Yes, I said 7 questions we should ask and today’s post brought us up to number 5. Please tune in to my next post for the rest of the questions. Thanks so much for stopping by today. If you’d like to participate in the conversation, your comments are welcome.

©Copyright 2017 Connie Wohlford