He Is Risen Indeed!

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, and returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.

It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them.

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. Luke 24:1-53

A Time of Famine

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. Amos 8:11 & 12

Praise God!

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen!

Doxology – Thomas Ken, 1674 – copyright status is Public Domain.

Grace

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16

Grace is God’s help, God’s enabling. It comes directly from God.

But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. I Corinthians 15:10

And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. Romans 11:6

Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace (help/enabling) that is in Christ Jesus. II Timothy 2:1

What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth (declares righteous) the ungodly (me), his faith is counted for righteousness.

Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed (happy) are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Romans 4:1-8

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1:14-17

For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing (cleansing) of regeneration (the new birth), and renewing of the Holy Ghost (the agent of transformation); which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified (declared righteous) by his grace (His enabling), we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:3-7

…let the word of Christ (Messiah) dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

Don’t Take My Word For It

You shouldn’t just accept anything that I or anybody else has to say about what the Bible teaches unless you also believe it to be true.

My goodness mister, to do that I would have to read and study the Bible every day! Yes sir, and that is what the Bereans did. The Bereans searched the Scripture (the Old Testament) daily to see if these things (about Jesus) were true.

I like the definition of faith found in W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words. It says that; faith is a firm persuasion or conviction brought about by hearing the Word.

Do you have any firm persuasions or convictions based on what you’ve learned from Scripture, or do you just accept whatever you hear?

When your religious leaders teach, do you compare what they say to Scripture? You should. I had a pastor years ago who would exhort his congregation not to park their brains at the door.

One of my mentors often says; “I would never talk (argue/debate) you into becoming a Christian, because if I can talk you into becoming a Christian, someone else can talk you out of it.

Do you have any persuasions or convictions based on Scripture? Here is the first thing that you should be a persuaded of or convicted of from Scripture:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved*.

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:16-18

*To be saved is to be delivered from the penalty of sin which is death. Death is separation. Physical death is separation from the body. Spiritual death is separation from God. For the saved, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

...let the word of Christ (Messiah) dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

Don’t take my word for it…..see and hear for yourself.

What About the What If’s?

The “What if’s” aren’t real.

Our ability to live and walk by faith is directly related to what is real to us. What is the most real to you and I? God’s presence or our own?

W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines faith as a firm persuasion or conviction brought about by hearing the Word.

Are you and I living by faith? The just shall live by faith.

…faith is the substance of things hoped* for, the evidence of things not seen…

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding; in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5&6

…let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…

*hoped – confidently assured of

Do you have any firm persuasions or convictions based on Scripture?

Are You Really a Christian?

You know most people regard Christianity as a religion. Religion is about ceremony and works. The Scripture sets forth Christianity as a relationship with God the Father through His Son, Jesus the Christ or Messiah Jesus.

From the relationship point of view, do you honestly think that someone whose life practices consistently violate God’s Law and whose tongue consistently profanes Jesus’ name can consider themselves to be in good standing with God the Father?

Sure, you are religious. You love ceremony and and can check the boxes on what your religion requires, but do you really have a personal relationship with God the Father through His Son?

Perhaps you should give this some thought.

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?

Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

And such were some of you: but ye are washed (cleansed) but ye are sanctified (set apart), but ye are justified (declared righteous) in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. I Corinthians 6:9-11

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. II Corinthians 5:17

But as many as received him (Jesus the Christ), to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: John 1:12

…let the word of Christ (Messiah) dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

Dead People

Do you have a Bible? Do you read it? If not, why not?

It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (God breathed).

So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

…the word of God is living…

…let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…

…thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee…

…the word of God liveth and abideth forever…

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Being born again (from above), not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever,…

Dead people don’t read….

Do you have questions? Get answers; Read Your Bible!