The Hope of the Believer's Resurrection

By:  Min. Angela Lee Price

Sisters and brothers, the hope of the believer is this--though we die, we shall live again.  It is no more remarkable that we should live again than that we should live at all!  We just need to think of the bewildering complexity of the human body and the even more intricate workings of the human personality to see that we are indeed "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Ps. 139:14).  The God who could make us once can certainly make us again.  What is of utmost importance to the Christian faith is that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.  It is a fundamental, factual, and fervent belief.  It gives us hope for the future.  Because  Jesus died and rose again on the third day, we too, by faith shall be raised in our mortal bodies to put on immortality to spend eternity with the Lord.

Our belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is a fundamental belief.  In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth to remind them of the gospel he had preached  to them stating, "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...." (1 Corinthians 15: 3-4).  This is the eu angelion, the Gospel which means "Good News." Apart from the Gospel, the Word of God is a false, the work of Christ is a failure, and the witness of the Spirit is a farce.

The Resurrection is a factual belief.  The Apostle Paul referenced the Scriptures, used logic and factual evidence to refute the false teaching of those claiming there was no resurrection of the dead.  He provided proof of the resurrection of Christ.  Paul stated, ...he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve, then to 500 brothers and sisters at the same time...He then appeared to James and to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me...." (vv5-8).  Paul put icing on the list of witnesses to the resurrection stating, "and.. he appeared to me". In other words, I am not telling you what I heard or what I think I know. I am telling you what I know.   Paul had a personal encounter with Jesus later on the road to Damascus as he was persecuting the saints.  Do you have a "know-so" faith?  Have you had a personal encounter with Jesus on your own "Damascus Road"?  Then you ought to tell somebody about the Lord!

The resurrection of Jesus Christ --as wonderous as it is, as marvelous and as game-changing as it is-- it is not the end of God's display of power!  Just as Jesus was raised from the dead, believers shall be raised from the dead also.   Our resurrected bodies will be the same bodies but perfected. A startled Mary Magdalene abruptly grabbed Jesus at the tomb. Thomas would not believe unless he felt Jesus' wounds.  Jesus proved this to Peter, John and the disciples whom he called from their boat to have breakfast with him along sea shore before he ascended. Paul told the church at Corinth as with Jesus, "So will it be with the resurrection of the dead.  The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power, it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body (vv 42-44). Our bodies, will be splendid bodies -- the mortal shall put on immortality.  Our bodies will be spirit bodies, incorruptible like Jesus' glorious body.  This is our inheritance, the hope of the  bodily resurrection of the believer.  We praise God for it!

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After the Resurrection: Do You Recognize Jesus?

By:  Min. Angela Lee Price

"Now come and have some breakfast!" Jesus said...(John 21:12)

I am inspired, sisters and brothers, by the stories in the Bible between the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension 40 days later into heaven.  There were several times when the disciples did not recognize Jesus in their midst. Mary Magdalene didn't immediately recognize Him at the tomb. She thought he was the gardener. The disciples on the road to Emmaus didn't recognize Him. The thought He was a stranger.  In John 21:1-14, the disciples did not recognize Jesus standing on the shore of the sea of Galilee after a failed night of fishing without a catch. Jesus shouted out to the disappointed disciples telling them, "Throw your nets on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get some (v6). They did as He said without knowing who He was, and caught more fish than they could haul in. John the beloved disciple recognized Jesus first telling Peter, "It is the LORD" (v7)! We had best recognize, my sisters and brothers, the very presence of the LORD in our lives! He lives, moves and has his being in the earth today through the Holy Spirit! When Jesus shows up in your crisis, on the  in your disappoint, on your the job, even at your home, I pray that you will, as John did, recognize Him.  Because Jesus just might show up at any time in this Covid-19 global pandemic to bless you!

How do we recognize Jesus?  We can recognize Jesus by strengthening our relationship with Him regularly through online worship or socially-distant in-person services as conditions permit, Bible study, prayer, and fellowship with other believers. He said, My sheep know my voice" (John 10:3).  We need to know the voice of Jesus so that we can distinguish HIS VOICE from ALL the voices and chatter out there!  Mary did not recognize Jesus until after He spoke to her at the empty tomb (John 20:14-16).   The two men on the Emmaus road, though they didn't immediately recognize Him, heard His voice and later stated, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24: 13-36).  Jesus speaks today through the Word of God, the preached Word, and divinely orchestrated encounters and circumstances.  Can you recognize His voice?  His is the voice that should lead and guide you in this time of crisis.

Not only do we recognize Jesus by His voice, we recognize Him by what He has done for us.   We recognize what Jesus has done for us by performing loving acts of kindness and compassion for hurting, marginalized and oppressed people.  Throughout His ministry, the people did not simply recognize Jesus by what He said about Himself (as monumental as that was), but also by what He did to others.  Jesus consistently left people in a better state than what He found them. He healed, delivered, and set people free from their afflictions. He performed miracles in their lives! Only after Jesus filled their nets with fish, did John recognized Him exclaiming, "It is the Lord" (John 21:6-7)! For the disciples, Jesus had 153 large fish (their source of income), and a hot breakfast, forgiveness, and fellowship with Him on the shore, "Now come and have some breakfast!" Jesus said.  None of the disciples dared to ask him, 'Who are you?' They knew it was the Lord  This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead" (vv12-14).   The two men who walked with Jesus on the Emmaus road recognized Christ only after He gave them, in addition to the Scriptures, bread for their physical bodies, something to eat (Luke 24:28-35).   We need to be ready to be the hands and feet of  Jesus in this crisis.

As believers, we ought live our lives in such a way that people will recognize that we have been with Jesus.   Live in such a way that those who know you but don't know God will come to know God because they know you.  The disciples were fearful right before and after the resurrection. Peter denied Jesus three times.  Their encounters with the resurrected Lord between the resurrection and the ascension, however, forever changed them from fearful disciples to fearless evangelists. Jesus forgave Peter at the breakfast on the seashore and told him, "Feed my sheep" (vv15-18).  Days later the Apostle Peter would preach on Pentecost and 3,000 souls were saved. This is what Jesus will do for you, too.  Jesus will give your life purpose and direction if you choose to recognize Him as King of kings and Lord of lords and follow Him by faith.  

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A Prayer for Help In the Time of Trouble

Heavenly Father, 

We pray for help in the time of trouble. Oh Lord, trouble don't last always! Even in this time of trouble, oh Lord, joy comes in the morning! For we stand on your Word and we believe your promises! Increase your loving hand of protection upon people who are experiencing sickness, who are in the path even of violence and death. Rescue those in harms way today, we pray from dangers seen and unseen. Raise the awareness of your ministers to sound the alarm! Shower down your ministering angels to stand in the gap to do the work of intercession. Send frontline healthcare workers, and volunteers to help where ever they are needed. We pray for your very present help in trouble, to still turmoil in the nation, to repair the breach of division that is causing us to turn on each other. In the name of Jesus, for it is by His stripes that we are healed. We pray for a greater resolve to live and not die in the face of Covid-19. Strengthen our determination to fight with the tools at our disposal, masks, social distancing, sanitizing agents and vaccinations. 

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the highly effective Covid-19 vaccines that have been approved. Please expedite the vaccine roll-out so that many more people are vaccinated in this race to out-pace variants. We mourn the lives of more than 550,000 Americans who have died to this deadly virus thus far. We pray for healing in the name of Jesus for those who are currently hospitalized, and in ICU units in Kentucky and across this nation. We pray for those who are currently hospitalized for other sicknesses, and chronic diseases. We pray for healing and for a speedy recovery. No matter how dire the prognosis, we know you have the final say. You are the Great Physician. We are encouraged by miraculous stories and testimonies of patients who recovered after fierce, prolonged battles with the virus; for patients who continue to live long past cancer and other major diseases. The wind and waves beat against the shores, this tempest, this deadly virus, Covid-19 that has infected the whole world! Speak now we pray, saying, "Peace! Be still (Matthew 8:23-27) We ask for healing, deliverance, and soon cleansing from this scourge in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.