The Resurrection

Good Evening to All!

As we get ready to "celebrate" Easter, I thought it fitting to make my post about this special event.

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised form the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1 Corinthians 15:19-26
I have said in the past that I feel so ashamed of the human race because I feel we let God down. We let Him down so badly that He could find none among us Good enough for a sacrifice, so He had to do it Himself. As Adam caused us to die in our sins, Jesus (being a man) helped us to live again, being buried (in water baptism with Christ). This is "another story", but it is this reasoning why I can't understand why there are actually people who do not believe that Water baptism is essential to being saved, let alone immersion and not sprinkling. Of course that is only my opinion as the Bible states and this is not a debate forum so I will leave baptism at that. The point is "to be saved" we must be baptised in water and in Spirit, which is the above scripture being buried with Christ.

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should not long be slaves to sin--because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:4-11

I have but one request. If you haven't read last night's post, please do. In it I suggest a wonderful way of "remembering what Christ did for us other than just Going to church, and lip service. Matthew 25:35-40 suggests an extra special way t0 thank our Savior. Even if we cannot afford to feed or clothe someone, we could visit someone who normally does not have many visitors. Even though we can never repay Him, it would be an excellent and extraordinary way to spend part of the Easter celebration.

Good night to All and May God Bless!

A Goat or a Sheep, I Think We Should All Remember This

Good Evening to All!

I was reading and participating in a very wise friend's Blog Frog Discussion. Her discussion was "I think we should remember this." The topic of her discussion was remembering to forgive one another before it's too late. I won't give her post or discussion away, but it's very good so you ought to check out Redhead Riter's blog.

Anyway, I told her in the discussion that I was going to take her idea and run with it, only with another take on the topic.

Her Title was "I Think We Should All Remember This." Well, so do I, but I have one occasion in mind at this time. Most of the time, we are all busy and wrapped up in our own little lives, thinking about strictly our own families, but what about doing something out of the ordinary this year? Easter is coming quickly, and what better way to remember our Savior and what He did for us than doing something special in His name on this special day? I know that when the following verses were spoken, Our Lord was talking about Judgment Day, separating the Sheep from the Goats, but I can't help thinking that it could be applied to us today as a "special gift to our Lord.

³¹When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

³²And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

³³And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

³⁴Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

³⁵For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

³⁶Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

³⁷Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

³⁸When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

³⁹Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

⁴⁰And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

I chose this particular picture of sheep because of the "black sheep". My first thought when I saw this picture was the perception of us when we see people. Our first thought is to keep our distance if we see people dressed differently, or people standing on street corners or homeless people. God loves us ALL! We are not separated by "class" or color, or any other way, so why should we separate us? We should look at each other as humans. Some in more dire circumstances than others. Just because they may not have clean clothes, or a clean body does not mean their heart is any different than ours. We are just blessed with a home, employment, and food. Please be mindful of these scriptures this Sunday, as you leave Church in your new Easter Clothes to go out to an Easter Feast at your favorite restaurant or family get together. Do something nice for someone, you WILL be Blessed.

Good Night and May God Bless!