New Bodies Await

 

“When they are raised, they will be spiritual bodies” ~Isaiah 26:19

 

It was a perfect summer morning as Derek and Tony were sitting in the shade of the outdoor cafe, enjoying fruit smoothies after an arduous workout. Both men were in their 50’s, in decent condition, hoping to work off those dreaded extra pounds that seem to always attach themselves to their waistlines.

“You know, it’s not fair,” said Tony as he grabbed a handful of extra waistline flesh.

“What’s not fair, besides life and not enough money?”

“I’m talking about this fat that always settles just above my belt. I used to be trim and fit, no matter what I ate. Now look,” he said, pointing to his bulging stomach.

“Oh. That. Clearly I am in the same boat, Tony. But guess what— I will have a perfect body some day. No wrinkles, no bulging waistline, no aching back, no bad knees or fallen arches. My body will be perfect in every aspect!”

“Let me taste your drink, my friend. I think you might have a little alcohol in your smoothie. Oh, wait, you’ve been watching reruns of  Jason Statham movies and dreaming his body is yours. I know because I’ve done the same thing. An honest look in the mirror will bring you back to reality,” he chuckled.

Derek put his elbows on the table and leaned toward Tony and said, “I’m not talking about that. I’ve come to terms with never looking like Statham or any such guy. I’m talking about the next life, after I die. The Bible tells me that Jesus will give me a new, perfect body— A spiritual body.

Our earthly bodies, these hunks of flesh we complain about so often, cannot exist in eternity so God will transform us into spiritual beings with radically different bodies which will never see decay. You know that time you broke your arm and how painful it was and how on certain winter days it still aches?”

Tony nodded his head, recalling that horrible experience.

“Never happen in heaven, my friend. These wrinkled, oversized bodies will be completely transformed into spiritual bodies which will never see decay, never breakdown, never tear or ache. They will be custom made by God Himself.”

“Are you making this up, Derek? I’ve never heard you talk about this before. As a matter of fact, I’ve never heard anyone talk about superhuman bodies in heaven. So will you be able to fly around, have super strength, maybe X-ray vision?” he laughed.

“Well, I’m not sure. Whatever God has planned will happen and part of His plan is for us to shed these earthly bodies after death. Sort of like waking through a door in this flesh and appearing on the other side in a shiny, perfect body that will never die!

“Truthfully, Derek, I don’t think I want to live forever. I’m only 54 now and it seems a lifetime of disappointment, regret, failures and missed opportunities with a few good times sprinkled in so I won’t totally give up. So the thought of never dying but spending eternity like this— no thanks my friend. One lifetime is plenty.”

“Believe me, I understand how you feel but heaven is not like that, Derek. No tears, no sadness, no failures, no hidden past to haunt you, no broken marriages. Nothing but praising God and experiencing absolute perfection. Before you say anything, keep in mind that we will be perfect in all ways. Body and mind! We will never have a bad thought. No lust or greed or anger. Bottom line: since we’ve never experienced perfection in body or mind, we cannot understand life without problems and discouragement.”

Activating his mobile phone, Derek began reading some Bible verses to Tony,”

1 Cor 15:43-44 The bodies we have now embarrass us, for they become sick and die; but they will be full of glory when we come back to life again. Yes, they are weak, dying bodies now, but when we live again they will be full of strength. They are just human bodies at death, but when they come back to life they will be superhuman bodies. For just as there are natural, human bodies, there are also supernatural, spiritual bodies.

2 Cor 5:1 “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing.”

Phil 3:20-21 “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.”

There was silence as the men looked at each other; Tony trying to absorb this seemingly impossible information. “I had no idea, Derek. It really is like a superhero magazine story. But I can tell you believe this to be true. And since you’ve read it to me, I understand it is in the Bible. Wow! Talk about food for thought.

“Listen, I’ve got to get to work so let’s meet tomorrow morning at Cafe Vio and you can tell me more about this. I need to wrap my mind around this idea my friend.”

 

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Made New

“Behold, all things are made new!” 2 Cor. 5:17

Michael prepared his talk for weeks, editing again and again, looking for the best descriptions and phrases to accurately explain the idea of being Born Again and becoming a new person in Christ. He knew his college graduating class would be caught off guard by his subject but he also knew it was the perfect time to share his faith.

Finally he felt ready. The hours of research, writing and editing had paid off. However, it was not to be so. At least not the carefully prepared speech Michael had written and re-written. God had other plans.

While driving to the campus he began to feel that mysterious, almost audible voice of the Holy Spirit changing his plan. Then, with slowly mounting terror, Michael understood that God was telling him to forget about his speech and to fully trust Him. At first he was gripped with terror, picturing himself on the stage, facing the sea of faces on this very special day, completely unprepared, wondering what he might say.

Later, as he gripped the sides of the lectern, looking out at the great crowd of expectant friends and relatives, Michael absolutely understood the meaning of being made new by his faith in Christ. As he opened his mouth, an amazing sense of calm and poise came over him. God had taken control to give Michael’s words supernatural power, reaching into the hearts and minds of all in attendance. Years later friends would remind him of his powerful and dynamic speech that truly touched their hearts and, in some cases, changed their lives.

2 Corinthians 5:14-21 The love of Christ controls us. Because we know that One died for all. So all have died. Christ died for all so that those who live would not continue to live for themselves. He died for them and was raised from death so that they would live for him.

From this time on we do not think of anyone as the world does. It is true that in the past we thought of Christ as the world thinks. But we no longer think of him in that way. If anyone belongs to Christ, then he is made new. The old things have gone; everything is made new! All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between us and himself. And God gave us the work of bringing everyone into peace with him. I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold the world guilty of its sins. And he gave us this message of peace. So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is as if God is calling to you through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God. Christ had no sin. But God made him become sin. God did this for us so that in Christ we could become right with God.

Ephesians 4:22-24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

2 Peter 1:3-4 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Colossians 3:1-4 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Colossians 3:13-16 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Philippians 2:1-4 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Viewing life through the filter of faith in Christ transforms us into a new creation.

Human Wisdom

“Destruction is certain for those who think they are wise

and consider themselves to be clever”  Isaiah 5:21

Human wisdom is limited and finite, not able to penetrate the heart and soul; to uplift, encourage, challenge and give hope all at once. Only God in His infinite wisdom, through the Holy Spirit, can teach, encourage, forgive, and heal by divinely inspired words. As Bible teachers rely on God’s spiritual guidance for a foundation, His supernatural touch may go forth, penetrating the heart, planting seeds of hope and peace.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25  I know very well how foolish it sounds to those who are lost, when they hear that Jesus died to save them. But we who are saved* recognize this message as the very power of God. For God says, “I will destroy all human plans of salvation no matter how wise they seem to be, and ignore the best ideas of men, even the most brilliant of them.”

So what about these wise men, these scholars, these brilliant debaters of this world’s great affairs? God has made them all look foolish and shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense. For God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never find God through human brilliance, and then he stepped in and saved all those who believed his message, which the world calls foolish and silly. It seems foolish to the Jews because they want a sign from heaven as proof that what is preached is true; and it is foolish to the Gentiles because they believe only what agrees with their philosophy and seems wise to them.

So when we preach about Christ dying to save them, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. But God has opened the eyes of those called to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, to see that Christ is the mighty power of God to save them; Christ himself is the center of God’s wise plan for their salvation. This so-called “foolish” plan of God is far wiser than the wisest plan of the wisest man, and God in his weakness—Christ dying on the cross—is far stronger than any man.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5  When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters,I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

Christians have been given an amazing gift; the gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, His only Son. Not only that but with the gift, God filled us with His Holy Spirit; a supernatural link to God Himself. With that connection comes supernatural wisdom and discernment not available to the world.

1 Corinthians 2:14-16  But the man who isn’t a Christian can’t understand and can’t accept these thoughts from God, which the Holy Spirit teaches us. They sound foolish to him because only those who have the Holy Spirit within them can understand what the Holy Spirit means. Others just can’t take it in. But the spiritual man has insight into everything, and that bothers and baffles the man of the world, who can’t understand him at all. How could he? For certainly he has never been one to know the Lord’s thoughts, or to discuss them with him, or to move the hands of God by prayer. But, strange as it seems, we Christians actually do have within us a portion of the very thoughts and mind of Christ.

Human wisdom seems brilliant to our human understanding but in comparison to God, it is primitive and limited. Human wisdom took a bite of the forbidden fruit; human wisdom passed laws in America to stifle worship of God; human wisdom established false religions that deny the one true God, and human wisdom said the earth was formed, with all its complexities, from a collision of errant planets billions of years ago.

Proverbs 3:7-8  Never let yourself think that you are wiser than you are; simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong. If you do, it will be like good medicine, healing your wounds and easing your pains.

1 Corinthians 3:19  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As it says in the book of Job, God uses man’s own brilliance to trap him; he stumbles over his own “wisdom” and falls.

The Voice

His life had been a constant turmoil; one colossal blunder after another: the drowning of his son, the divorce following, the business failure. All gone. Alone, he opened the gun cabinet, loaded the nickel-plated Colt, set a note on his dresser and headed for his son’s tree house. A fitting place to finalize his life.

Once settled in, he reached for the Cold beside him, not wanting to prolong the act. But his hand was frozen above the gun. He could not move his arm or fingers. Confusion and panic set in. Then fear and then the wind. Somehow, in the wind, was a voice.

“I love you. I gave everything for you, even My Son. My only Son. I I gave Him freely. His death was more than I could bear too. I know how you feel. I will walk with you every day. Don’t give up. My love for you will balance your loss. You can trust me always.

Now free to use his arm and hand, he picked up the Colt. . .and stuffed it in his waistband so he could climb safely out of the tree house. After he locked the pistol back in his cabinet, he opened the phone book, under churches.

David Nelson