JustJeff

While Jesus did predict His resurrection in advance few seem to have understood that. I would guess that His ministry would have some credibilty but, in all probabilty, would have been have been very shallow, in time becoming traditional and ceremonial along with the Sadducees, Pharisees and other man made religions. To be crowned the First Born of the Dead by God illustrates Jesus' passion and His sinless life as acceptable to the Father as a living sacrifice, the final sacrifice for all of mankind. A seal for eternity by El Saddai. On this Palm Sunday let us sing glad hosannas to our glorious Lord and King!

To me, the sight of Jesus walking, talking, eating, and with the visible hole in His side and nail pierced hands and feet, would be a slam dunk as to my believing His resurrection. Today, we have no such ability other than what we know in our souls, confirmed by the witness of the Holy Spirit within. My faith now works for me. And, it is by my faith that any friend of mine will see a hope that lies within me that will sow the seeds necessary to bring them to the Lord in His time.

After the loss of their beloved leader, brother, master, Lord, the disciples were indeed scared, sorrowful and deeply depressed. These emotions would not have been displayed had Jesus not died on the cross. Their lack of faith and understanding about His resurrection is documented in all four gospels. After He arose and proved to them that He was resurrected He intstructed them to wait for the Holy Ghost in Jerusalem, which they did, further proof that they all were witnesses to His glory. When the Holy Spirit did infill them Peter, the wimp, the man who denied the Lord, became the rock for which the Lord named him and stood up to all at Jerusalem and testified that Jesus was indeed raised from the dead.

I don't see where there is any motive to steal the body of the Lord by any party. The disciples never got it concerning the resurrection until after He arose. The Romans wanted the whole mess to go away, as did the Jews. Joseph wanted simply to make certain the Lord was properly buried, in a manner worthy of his leader.

Christian scholars who are liberal are an oxymoron. It is too easy to be called a Christian when, in fact, one has been corrupted by worldly teaching to the point where there is no belief in the very essence of of our faith, the resurrection. I don't see where anyone who is liberal can be a Christian in that the very Word of God is extreme conservatisim in today's society. Since Jesus came to not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it, any liberal interpretation is escapism from the conviction that the Word is intended to instill in it's readers. Furthermore, those who cannot see the supernatural aspect of God in one part, are blind to all aspects of the Lord's power and are religious, not truly Christian at all. By their lack of faith in the Word of God they are emissaries for the devil, blinded to the truth, and unable to accept the historical facts concerning of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus was raised from the dead He was resurrected. When His resurrected body arose up to heaven He ascended. The latter could not have happened without the first since the corruptible flesh cannot inhabit the incorruptible spiritual. "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" 1 Cor 15:55

Jesus' resurrected body was a relection of His pre-resurrection body, capable of both human and supernatural abilities.

The manner in which the grave linens appeared led Peter and John to believe that Jesus came out of the grave clothes rather than being removed from Him, increasing their faith.

At first, no one even thought about the possibility that Jesus had risen from the dead. It is amazing how faith seems to slip away when the Word isn't present. They all acknowledeged the empty tomb, even that a messenger or two said that He had risen and yet, there was no belief. All agreed that Jesus was no longer in the grave. From my standpoint, He has risen from the dead, conclusively.

If you have ever had to interview witnesses to determine a situation you would have understanding about differences in the resurrection accounts. Some wrote of two angels, others, one. There was one women at the tomb. No! there were two! That's not right. There were three. Mary saw Jesus at once when she went to the tomb. Or was it later? Which Mary? This is how it goes when different people see same situation and in the final account, it is what they all agree upon. That the thing did happen. This, in the end is what it is all about. Jesus rose on the third day. He's alive! On this they all agree.

I don't believe that the enemies of the Lord believed that He would rise up on the third day anymore than His disciple did. I do feel that since the Lord made it plain that He would be resurrected, those who feared His power after His death sensed a conspiracy to steal His body to make it appear as though He did arise. All scripture indicates that His followers thought that Jesus was dead and gone.

It is Jesus who is the Judge of the quick and the dead and it is by Him that we have life or death, whether it be freed from the death of sin or bodily resurrection at the last day.

For the righteous the resurrection will be when we are carried away with the Lord in the air, to be forever with Him. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

It would seem that Sho'l, to the Jews, was a place where we would go when we died. A place of darkness, where our soul would forever be imprisoned. Job, on the other hand, saw something different. He had a taste of a new life after death, wherein he would see his Redeemer, and that same Redeemer would return to us, in the latter days. Progressive revelation is the gradual unraveling of God's mystery, through time, by His prophets, great and small, as recorded in His Word.

No matter where an embassy is located the country from which the ambassador originates has sovereinty over it and the property on which it stands. An ambassador is the representative of the country that has dispatched him or her. This person speaks of the policy that is established by the government which dispatches the ambassador. That person is an oracle for the government and it's chief. As the sole representative of their country an ambassador needs to follow the exact laws and policies that have been established by government as he or she is a reflection of their doctrine. So too, should an ambassador conduct themself with dignity and honor to mirror the image of what they represent, respecting the country in which they are assigned. As ambassadors for Christ the exact same rules apply to Christians.

Paul would do things that most Christians today wouldn't dare to do. He would walk into a synagogue in a strange city and start preaching the gospel. He would rebuke churches for their sins. Stand before governments and tell of Jesus. At times I could see where he might feel discouraged by his fleshly weakness and physical abuses that he suffered for the truth. He needed prayer to be strengthened, and to maintain or regain his boldness for such an effort. Can you imagine a war between a cowardly army and a bold army? The only way that a cowardly army could win is if the bold army tired itself out chasing them down. To be victorious over the enemy of our souls we need to go after that old rascal, not sit back and allow him to devour us. If we do nothing we are just cowards and weaklings, captured and in the bondage of sin.

When we are halfhearted and distracted in our approach to prayer the chances of breaking through to the throne room of God are slim at best. Being alert enables us to focus on what it is that we are praying about. Focus leads to perseverance which, in turn leads to a breakthrough. That is why we need this exortation and, is why we need the Holy Spirit to assist and guide us. I have always had trouble staying focused and allowing myself to be subject to my environment. Knowing that it is a human failing and not a spiritual disorder is comforting. Thank you.

Prayer is the essential weapon that the Lord has placed at our disposal when we war against the enemy of our souls. It is Adonai who is our sword, our shield, our buckler. He is the Captain of our salvation and the Mighty God of Armies. To Him belongs the battle and to us He gives the victory. It is Yahweh on whom we must call when attacked by the enemy whether it is the devil, the world and, yes, ourselves. Praying in the Spirit means bringing your spirit to the very throne room of God by cojoining yourself with His Holy Spirit, becoming one. When we cannot frame our words, the Spirit does so for us. It is simply surrendering your will to God.

The enemy is always on the attack trying to break our faith so the shield of faith must be utilized daily to protect and become more impenetrable by use. Our helmet of salvation assures us that the Lord has sanctified us and our place in heaven is reserved for us thereby keeping negative thoughts to the contrary out of our minds. The sword of the Spirit both defends and attacks, the Word of truth countering any attemps to try to undermind our understanding of sound doctrine while providing a good witness to those enslaved by sin.

Employers, whether church boards or secular, should conduct themselves with even greater Christlike attributes than employees as he who is great among us should behave as the most humble. You can have great authority and command tremendous respect from those under you by simply walking the walk. Pay should be based upon fair market rates.

When we walk as Christ did we are a reflection of His character and nature and we need to behave accordingly as those who know us would expect. To our bosses we are respectfull and eager to excel as we are trying our best to please our Lord first. For those who rule over us in an ugly manner we have to learn the same meekness that the Savior displayed on Calvary with a large dose of humilty to go along with it. The application of Christlike behavior at work and throughout our daily living will cause us to grow in the faith, overcoming the most difficult of situations, assuring us of reaching the prize at the end of the race; eternity with our God, our Lord, our Savior, the precious Adonai.

Bad parental behavior would include sexual, verbal, physical and spiritual abuse, neglect, abandonment, trauma, excessiveness in corporal punishment, degradation. Any or all would cause a child to become bitter and lose heart, to say the least. Proverbs 22:6; "Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Simply put, a parent needs to be a Christlike example in all aspects of their behavior which would include biblical rearing and training of their youngsters. That would include moderate behavior which would prevent excessiveness, and a greater reliance on the Lord.

As an adult a child should have the utmost respect for their parents as they were used by God to bring them forth into this world for His purpose. God orders us to honor them and we must as it was they that brought us into adulthood even if it was not in the manner of love that we would expect. God uses the most difficult of family circumstances for our destiny and as we grow in Him we come to have pity on those we love who may not have been able to do what they should have as parents. It is when a parent tries to draw us away from the Lord or tempt us to risk our salvation that when we need to back away. It is possible to obey God toward your parents without being close to them because of faith issues. One should never completely disregard ones parents however, as there will be a time when they will be no more and any chance to win them to the faith will be gone forever.

Jesus is our husband as Jehovah Jirah, our Provider. He is the Chief Shepherd of our family, keeping us together and watching over us at all times. He is love and shows us how to love one another. He is humble and teaches us to be humble. He is always available to us when needed and always ready to listen. These are wonderful qualities for any husband and church. What all of this implies is a standard that the whole body of Christ must strive to apply to our lives. How wonderful this could be. Our Lord wants to have complete dominion over us. We are His sheep and He is the Shepherd of the flock. As sheep are to the shepherd so ought we to be to Jesus.

Though divorced for many years, my ex-wife is still very much a part of me, spiritually. I sense that we will always be part of one another in this way. For married couples I would imagine this oneness would be to the max, inclusive of an equally strong fleshly attachment. If so, the man would care and love for his wife as he would part of his physical body as they are one. As Eve was created from Adam's body, though a separate and distinct person, she is of him, and he her, and they are one flesh. In God's eyes, married persons are the same.