Tried With Fire

“Why seek you the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen; remember how He spoke unto you when He was yet in Galilee.” Luke 24:5, 6. “He is not here, but He is risen!” This was amazing news to His enemies. They said, “We have killed Him; we have put Him in the tomb; it is all over with Him.” Aha! Scribe, Pharisee, Priest! What have you done? Your work is all undone, for He is risen! It was amazing news for Satan. He, no doubt, dreamed that he had destroyed the Savior, but He is risen! What a thrill went through all the regions of hell! What news it was for the grave! Now it was utterly destroyed, and Death had lost his sting! What news it was for trembling saints. “He is risen, indeed.” They plucked up courage, and they said, “The good cause is still the right one, and it will conquer, for our Christ is still alive as its head.” It was good news for sinners. Yes, it is good news for every sinner here. Christ is alive! If you seek Him, He will be found of you. He is ...

Last fall, I came face to face with mortality and death when my dad's health began to decline. When he died, there were three things that the Holy Spirit used to comfort me - my pastor's recent sermons on the resurrection from 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostles' Creed, and the first question and answer from the Heidelberg catechism. While it is true that my dad is in the presence of the Lord and free from physical suffering, this is not his end state. To be fully human is to be body and soul. Death severs that union, but the resurrection will unite what has been torn apart. So my dad is awaiting "the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting." 1 And everyone in Christ has this hope because "with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ." 2 The resurrection offers great comfort when faced with death, but I can think of practical implications now. Namely, if we affirm the resurrection, wh...

I am thankful for  the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting . Jesus is fully man and fully God. Otherwise, he could not be our savior and our interceding high priest. He also did not cease to be human at his resurrection and ascension. God created us as human beings. We don't become angels when we die. We don't become disembodied spirits, as though the goal of the Christian life is to rid itself of the physical body. This denigration of the material is Platonic and Gnostic, both pagan in their origins. The problem isn't the body. The problem is sin. But because of Christ's finished work, the problem of sin has been dealt with once and for all. We are saved as human beings, and we will be fully human as we were intended to be. The souls of those in the presence of the Lord will be reunited to their resurrected bodies when Christ returns. If we are still alive that day, our bodies will be changed as well into bodies that will never experience sin or ...

I journey forth rejoicing From this dark vale of tears To heavenly joy and freedom From earthly bonds and fears Where Christ our Lord shall gather All His redeemed again, His kingdom to inherit-- Goodnight, goodnight till then Why thus so sadly weeping Beloved ones of my heart? The Lord is good and gracious Though now He bids us part Oft have we met in gladness And we shall meet again All sorrow left behind us-- Goodnight, goodnight till then I go to see His glory Whom we have loved below I go, the blessed angels The holy saints to know. Our lovely ones departed I go to find again And wait for you to join us-- Goodnight, goodnight till then I hear the Savior calling-- The joyful hour has come The angel-guards are ready To guide me to our home Where Christ our Lord shall gather All His redeemed again, His kingdom to inherit-- Goodnight, goodnight till then

My dad finished his race and was called home last night. We lost someone we love, but we are rejoicing for his gain. He will never experience sin, sickness, pain, sadness, or worry ever again. And one day we will be reunited with him and be with the Lord forever. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we ...

Life becomes harder and more complicated when you grow older. I'm not there yet, but my parents are. I've just come home from helping move my mom into memory care, and I will be heading back to help move my dad into assisted living. The packing and physical move were the easy part. The hard part is the emotional and mental adjustment to living in a new place, which is difficult for anyone let alone for someone with Alzheimer's. It's also hard to watch and try to help from afar; the lion's share is on my sister and brother-in-law. I'm thankful for my parents and how God has kept them. I also want to use this situation to learn and adjust now before it will become harder to do so. On the drive home, I shared with my daughter the lessons I want to learn, so here they are. Maybe they will help you too. 1. Don't wait to declutter. The saying goes, "You can't take it with you," and maybe my daughter won't want to take it with her either. Ask ...

There have been so many advances in public health and medicine that we live longer and healthier lives. While this is a wonderful blessing from God, have we forgotten that we are mortal? Do we believe that we will always be as healthy as we were in our prime with no diminution of mind or physical strength because conventional medicine (or alternative therapies) can provide a cure for everything? As a result of this, have we lost the ability to walk alongside loved ones who face aging and dying? These are questions raised in Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. The author is a Harvard-trained surgeon who is on the faculty of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, so he knows of what he speaks. In his career as a physician, he has noticed the lack in the medical profession and even in society-at-large of helping people who face illness, disability, and death. These issues are treated solely as medical problems so the soul-care (my word) is absent when hard decisions need to be made. F...

From Jeremiah Burroughs: Question: "How does the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead come to be a means of giving hope?" Answer: The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the cause of true lively hope in the hearts of the saints. By the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, God has declared that He is fully satisfied for the sins of man, and that the work of redemption is fully wrought out... Read the rest here .

I am Out of the Ordinary today writing on the hope of the resurrection even in the midst of Alzheimer's. I sometimes imagine what life was like in the Garden of Eden. There was perfect harmony with God and between all of creation. There was no illness or death, which is hard to fathom. Yet this was the reality of the state of innocence before the Fall. But that reality is no more. Once sin entered the picture, a new reality took hold. What was once whole and healthy is now broken and dying. Even if you never had a single sick day in your life, the rate of decay is going to eventually outpace the rate of cell growth. Surgery may be able to nip this and tuck that. Medical research may provide new treatments, but there is no fountain of youth. There is no elixir of life. The sad prognosis of this present reality has been on my mind quite a bit lately because I have a family member with Alzheimer's. The disease is still in its early stage, and I'm very thankful for the...