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Death Is Temporary
Jesus Christ rose from the dead
.
Jesus
Christ died a physical death, vacated an actual grave, and ascended into Heaven
where He, at this moment, reigns as head of the Church. The resurrection
changed everything - and it proves this promise of God: He will reclaim His
creation. He is a God of restoration, not destruction. He is a God of renewal,
redemption, regeneration, resurrection. Let this hope for tomorrow bring
strength to today. Your finest moment will be your final moment! Jesus Christ
rose from the dead, not just to show you His power, but to reveal your path -
He will lead you through the valley of death
Max Lucado
“Death has been
swallowed up in victory.” —
1 Corinthians 15:54 NIV
Barring the return of Christ, you will have
one final moment… a last gasp, a final pulse.
Your lungs will empty, and your blood will
still.
What will you be after you die?
Answers vary, but
Christianity posits a startling idea: “Death has been swallowed up in
victory” (1
Corinthians 15:54 NIV).
The cemetery is less a place of loss and more
a place of gain.
The dead in Christ are to be mourned, for
sure.
But they are also to be envied.
Funeral dirges are understandable, but a
trumpet blast would be equally appropriate.
People of the Promise hold on to the
unshakable hope that hinges on the resurrection of Christ.
The Christian hope depends entirely upon the
assumption that Jesus Christ died a physical death, vacated an actual grave,
and ascended into Heaven where He, at this moment, reigns as head of the
Church.
The resurrection changed everything.
And it proves this promise of God: He will
reclaim His creation.
He is a God of restoration, not destruction.
He is a God of renewal, redemption,
regeneration, resurrection.
God loves to redo and restore.
Let this hope for tomorrow bring strength to
today.
Your finest moment will be your final moment!
Everyone else may say otherwise, that death
is to be avoided, postponed, and ignored.
But they do not have what you have.
You have a promise from the living God. Your
death will be swallowed up in victory!
Jesus Christ rose from the dead, not just to
show you His power, but to reveal your path.
He will lead you through the valley of death.
Promises from God
“Restore to me the
joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.” — Psalm 51:12
The angel said to the
women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was
crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the
place where He lay.” —
Matthew 28:5-6 NIV
So, we do not give up. Our physical body is
becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day.
We have small troubles for a while now, but
they are helping us gain an eternal glory that is much greater than the
troubles.
We set our eyes not on what we see but on
what we cannot see.
“What we see will last
only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever.” — 2 Corinthians
4:16-18 NCV
In keeping with His promise, we are looking
forward to a new Heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. — 2 Peter 3:13 NIV
Praying God’s Promises
Lord, thank You for
the promise of a temporary tomb. Your power has no limits.
You have conquered
death. You have promised to make all things new.
You are the God of
restoration and redemption and regeneration.
You are the God of
resurrection. In my day-to-day life it can be difficult for me to maintain an
eternal perspective.
Sometimes I may get
bogged down in the worries of today and forget that the best is yet to come.
Restore in me the joy
of my salvation, God.
Renew my mind and my
heart so that I will have an eternal perspective of all the worries of my day.
They are nothing compared to spending eternity with You.
And because of your
promise of resurrection, I do not have to fear death.
I will live in faith,
knowing that in Jesus, death has been swallowed up in victory.
Amen.
I WILL…
I will entrust my death to the Lord of life.
I will live with eternity in mind, knowing
the best is yet to come.
I will not fear death, but instead, I will
believe the promise that death has been swallowed up in victory.
Your Turn
Jesus’ life told this story so well. Death
being temporary.
Do you look at death as a gift?
Do you look at it as grace? We would love to hear
from you.
So, come share your thoughts on our blog!
Excerpted from Praying the Promises by Max Lucado
Max
Lucado
Since
entering the ministry in 1978, Max Lucado has served churches in Miami,
Florida; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and San Antonio, Texas. He currently serves as
Senior Minister of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio. He is America’s bestselling
inspirational author with more than 130 million books in print. Follow his
website at MaxLucado.com Facebook.com/MaxLucado Instagram.com/MaxLucado
Twitter.com/MaxLucado
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