Oh Death - MercyMe

You ain't nothin' but a stone, that my Savior rolled away!

Video: Oh Death by MercyMe

Oh death, I will not be afraid

In the end you will lose

I will dance on your grave

With the One who buried you

You ain't nothin' but a stone

That my Savior rolled away

Set you straight and set me free

Oh, death, you arе dead to me

Oh, death, you arе dead to me

Luke 24:5-6 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, "Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn't here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee,

Our Conqueror Will Rule

Satan defeated, unbelievers judged, God's kingdom come.

Revelation 20:10-15 Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

11 And I saw a great white throne and the One sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from His presence, but they found no place to hide. 12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds.

14 Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. 15 And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:1-3 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, God's home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them.

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In the daily grind and weariness of life it may seem that our prayers are never going to be answered, it seems that "thy kingdom come" is never going to happen. Because of the delay there are many people that have given up on his second coming. They fail to realize that the Bible proves over and over again that God's timetable moves very slowly and it isn't a sign that his promises will not come true.

We don't like delay anymore than God's children in the Bible. Noah thought the first ever boat would never be completed, Abraham thought that he would never have an heir, God's children thought that they would never stop being ruled by various world leaders.

It is easy to think that God is late and his second coming will never happen. Jesus will return and stop the plans of Satan, the people of Satan's kingdom will be judged and the children of God's kingdom will finally be satisfied forever.

For every time the first coming of Christ is mentioned, the Second Coming is mentioned eight times. And the Lord Himself refers to His coming twenty-one times and over 50 times we are exhorted to be ready for that great event. 

-John MacArthur

This event is so important that scripture makes it clear that we can trust God to come through on the Bible's promises about the second coming. The first coming miraculously fulfilled hundreds of prophecies so we can have confidence that the second coming which is predicted much more often than the first is sure to take place.

Jesus will begin his rule by defeating all of the opposition to his kingdom. 

World leaders will fight “against the Lord and against His anointed” but they will all be defeated. Their weapons prove to be worthless against the sword of the Lord. God created by speaking and it instantly happened and by the sword of his mouth his enemies will be defeated. (Psalm 2:1-3, Hebrews 4:12)

The beast, the false prophet and Satan are all doomed, first the beast and false prophet are cast into hell, then after the thousand year millennial reign Satan will follow them to the same fate. (Revelation 20:10)

The next defeat will happen to all those whose names are not recorded in the Book of Life. The sad reality of everyone that loved their life on earth too much to be concerned about what would happen in the next life. At the great white throne, there will be a Judge but no jury, a prosecution but no defense, a sentence but no appeal. God's answer will be final! (John 12:25, Revelation 20:15)

The prayers of God's children throughout the ages will finally be answered. The longing for "they kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven" will be fulfilled! All of the earthly kingdoms, no matter how good some of them are, will all be gone.

Jesus has told us how to avoid defeat as a citizen of his kingdom.

You don't have to go down in defeat. if you make the wise choice and you are ready for the king that is coming then you will be a citizen of the new kingdom with the only perfect king. There will not be any illegal immigration into God's kingdom.

The Bible is the story of God restoring the kingdom that was lost back when God walked with man in the Garden of Eden. The story continued as God abides with Israel in the tabernacle and later in the temple. Jesus came to earth and “tabernacled” among us and now lives within us. At the end of time the kingdom will be fully restored and God's children will take their place in this better country that they have been longing to see. (John 1:14 / Hebrews 11:16 /1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

When we enter the kingdom we will enjoy God's presence even more fully than Adam and Eve did in the garden. We will finally be home enjoying the presence of our father.

Are you a friend of the conqueror? You can find peace with God.

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Our Conqueror Will Return (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)

Jesus Changed My Destiny

I was on the road to ruin until Jesus paved the way to a new life.

1 Peter 2:22-25  He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.  23  He did not retaliate when He was insulted, nor threaten revenge when He suffered. He left His case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. 24  He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you are healed.

25  Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.

Philippians 3:19-20  They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.  20  But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior.

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The common ground that all of mankind has is the headache of sin, all around the world we are all looking for a way to handle the effects of sin, we are all missing the world as it was before the fall. Man has devised a lot of ways to try and put a bandage on the wounds but none of them change the end result of my sin.

There is only one way to deal with sin successfully, a ransom has to be paid to cancel our debt but who could possibly have enough assets to liquidate so that you could pay it? Fortunately I have someone that loves me that has the resources to pay my debt. 

The heartache and misery of my sin was placed on Jesus, something that he had never felt before, he was the perfect sacrifice because he did not sin, he did not tell a lie or get revenge or fight back, he trusted God when somebody treated him wrong.

I couldn't change my destiny

Psalms 49:6-9  They trust in their wealth and boast of great riches.  7  Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God.  8  Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough  9  to live forever and never see the grave.

The punishment that I was headed for has been avoided, Jesus put a u-turn sign up, the road to the grave and judgement doesn't have to be my destination. The gods that the world has created cannot change my destiny and so the world wonders around like lost sheep looking to satisfy their appetite for the temporary as they head to destruction.

John 3:16  "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Thanks to Jesus payment for my sin I am a citizen of heaven and I am on the narrow road that leads me home. I have been redeemed, cleansed and given a new life and now I am under the loving care of the good Shepherd.

Thank you Lord for changing my destiny!

Suffering Doesn't Always Come From Judgment

Nobody is immune from suffering here but will you suffer the ultimate tragedy?

Luke 13:1-5 About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple.

2 “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? 3 Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. 4 And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? 5 No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”

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Ever since the beginning of time, man has supposed that if he did the right things that only good would come his way, if you do bad stuff or neglect to do good stuff then you will be punished. The book of Job is thought to be the oldest book of the Bible and in it we see that Job's friends used this logic on poor Job. We have all heard of ancient civilizations that offered sacrifices to the god's so that they will in favored by them, if you forget to sacrifice to the rain god and you will be going through a drought, that's the rationale they used. (Ecclesiastes 9:1)

In today's scripture we see that Jesus changed the direction of the conversation from a political tragedy, to a natural catastrophe. He told the crowds that in either situation the catastrophe didn't happen because the people were out of God's favor.

Instead of trying to determine a cause for the tragedies, Jesus tells them that they need to be ready for eternity, no matter what causes them to get there. The good news is that we don't have to die, Jesus said that there is a way to avoid death which is the ultimate in suffering.

"You will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God." 

Only repentance can change death from a tragic end into a bridge to a new life, we cannot avoid this tragedy by being good or being in the right family, just as descendants of Abraham didn't automatically have God's favor. (Luke 3:8) It isn't about who you are but instead it is about who he is and what he has done for us.

John 3:16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."

I am going to suffer in this world but thankfully I do not have to suffer the ultimate tragedy of death. Thank you Jesus for changing my final destination.

Jesus Power Over Sin

Sin doesn't stand a chance against our Redeemer.

Acts 2: 22-24,32  “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know.

23 But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. 24 But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip. “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this.

Romans 6:6-11  We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

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We all love to make plans and try to take control of our day, we make plans and then we face the roadblocks to our plans, the rest of the world likes to get in our way. There is a plan that hasn't been altered or modified, that would be God's plan, it has been the same since the beginning of time.

Satan knew that God's plan to break the power of sin was an assault on his power, the grip that he had on man was coming to an end, Satan was fighting back for thirty-three years but he failed to stop the plan. Satan worked to spoil God's plan from Jesus birth all the way to his death, from King Herod all the way to the soldiers nails, but the plan kept on.

Jesus set me free, my sin was taken to the cross and they have been removed from the record books, the spreadsheet that was being kept has been deleted without any payments being made by me. Jesus paid off the entire balance. The only payments that I can make is to live for Jesus in obedience to him, I can offer my life as a living sacrifice. (Romans 12:1-2)

I now have real life that is worth living. Life without bondage and fear, life with hope and a bright future, a life that will never end. I need to share this good news with everyone.

Thank you Lord for giving me real life without the bondage and fear that so many people are still trapped in. I pray that they will hear the gospel message and receive your powerful healing in their life.

Jesus defeated the power of sin: 

Isa 53:10-12; Mt 9:6; Jn 15:13; Ro 6:6; 1Co 15:3; Tit 2:14; Heb 9:28; 1Pe 2:24; Rev 5:9

Jesus Power Over Death

Don't be afraid, the end is not the end, death has been defeated. 

Luke 8:41-42,49,54-55 Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him. 42 His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying.

49 A messenger arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. He told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.”

54 Then Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, “My child, get up!” 55 And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up!

John 11:14-15, 25  “Lazarus is dead. And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him. I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying."

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In the past two post we looked at Jesus power over the physical world and the spirit world, today I am looking at the power that Jesus had to restore life to a dead person. Jesus showed us on three occasions that he had the power to bring life back to somebody.

It is interesting to note that on two occasions he was delayed in reaching the dying person so they seemed to have died needlessly. Jesus didn't have the concern that we have when somebody is sick to the point of death, in both of the stories about his delay resulting in death, he had a greater work in mind. It was no sweat to bring them back to life and Jesus said that it would help the disciples to "really believe". (John 11:15)

God hates death, we were not meant to die, God gave Adam a rule to follow in Genesis 2:17 but Adam and Eve chose to put their faith in the serpents distorted interpretation of scripture instead of talking to God. They talked to him everyday so it seems like they would have asked God to clarify anything that the Devil told them.

Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die

- David Crowder

Jesus asked us all to die, not a physical death, he wants our old life, our selfishness and pride to be put to death. He wants me to live for his will and purpose instead of my own, I cannot please him unless the old man dies, it is a moment by moment decision to put aside self and pickup my cross. (Galatians 2:20, Matthew 16:24-25)

Thank you for taking the fear out of dying, help me Lord to die to self every moment of every day.

People that Jesus raised from the dead:

The daughter of Jairus shortly after death, a young man in the midst of his own funeral procession, and Lazarus, who had been buried for four days.

Jesus defeated the power of death: 

Ps 16:10; Jn 2:19; Jn 5:21; Jn 17:2; Ac 2:24,32; Ro 1:4; Ro 6:9; Eph 1:19-20; Php 3:10

Paul Tells Us About Our Hope

scripture

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1 Corinthians 15:3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.

observation

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There were hundreds of prophecies fulfilled by Jesus but maybe the most important one is the fact that he was raised from the dead. Paul admits to us in this chapter that if it were not true then all of the trouble and hardships that he was going through were a complete waste of time and he would be insane for enduring it all.

1 Corinthians 15:14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.

But Christ resurrection was proven by thousands that saw him after he was raised from the grave, even five hundred at one sighting, he even ate food so that they would know that it wasn’t a vision or a ghost that they were seeing.

Our resurrection is guaranteed by Jesus and since he was raised from the dead we can be sure that we will have our own resurrection and we will have a new life

1 Corinthians 15:22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.

Not only will we be raised to live forever but we get to live forever in a brand new body, thank the Lord that we don't have to spend eternity in these old bodies.

My wife will be able to run and dance and not have anymore of the pain that runs through her body that never gives her any relief, she will finally learn how it feels to not hurt again, she is longing for that day to come. There is a lot of pain and suffering that will end forever someday for those of us that are with God for eternity. For people that can get no relief from their doctors, their hope of the future with the Lord is more real to them than to those of us that are healthy.

1 Corinthians 15:42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.

It could happen any time now so get ready people you dont have a minute to spare.

1 Corinthians 15:52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

application

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We need to tell others of the wonderful hope that we have, a hope that we are sure of be cause Jesus came to show us that he is alive again.

prayer

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1 Corinthians 15:57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We do thank you Lord that the trouble that we experience down here will some day end and we will experience victory over sin and death, give relief to my wife as she struggles to get through each day.

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