"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord."
1 Corinthians 15:58
The source of our hope comes from the word of God as we prayerfully read it, and apply it to our lives. The result is change. Change defines salvation and sanctification. We cannot call ourselves disciples of Christ if we do not allow Him to transform our lives. We must go from being a child of Adam to a child of Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:21-22 tells us:
"For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. "
If you will take the time to read 1 Corinthians 15:20-58 you will gain a clearer understanding, and it will bring you a great source of hope during these trying times. Our hope is in being changed. We want to walk according to God’s divine nature, rather than our own. We have to take off the old man and put on Christ Jesus. This we must do while living on this earth in order to experience triumph over the second death. If we choose to become His disciple people should see a dramatic change in our lives. If we haven’t changed from the inside out, we have reason to doubt we are His disciples.
That doesn’t mean we acquire perfection as He is, but it does mean we become a new creature in Christ Jesus. We will experience that perfection not on this earth, but when we join Him in heaven. We see the wonder of it all as we read verses 42-43:
"So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body; it is raised an imperishable body. 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. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body."
That is change! I must confess the older I get, the more I look forward to the eternal promises of God’s Word. Allow the following verses to encourage you, and give you hope of the dramatic changes in all our lives I hope we are living for now.
Verses 51-57 proclaim:
" Behold, I tell you a mystery, we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable, must put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written,
"O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Hallelujah! We would be hopeless but for the cross of Christ. But because He chose obedience over His own will, to be offered as the last and only sacrifice to cover mankind we have victory and triumph over sin. Sin causes death not only physically, but spiritually. Notice the "d" is capitalized in the verses addressing Death. That is because Death is a demonic being that will be put in the lake of fire with Hades forever it tell us in Revelation 20:14:
‘Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire."
Life is about choices. Aren’t you thankful for Jesus making a way for us to escape the second death? We all have a choice to choose the way of escape, or to go our own way, to live for ourselves and our will, and then join Death and Hades! This is a very sobering truth and future reality whether you believe it or not. Not acknowledging eternal truth from God’s Word will not make it go away or change it. The Bible tells us you can do nothing against the Truth.
2 Corinthians 13:8 declares:
"For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the Truth. "
As we have looked at these verses in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, I hope we have ample reason to allow these verses to motivate us to obey our main verse for today. Let us who have chosen to give up our present lives for the new life we may have, choose to make no provision for our flesh, but put on Christ Jesus, so we may remain steadfast and immovable. May we always abound in the work of the Lord. Let us remind one another often of His promise, KNOWING THAT OUR TOIL IS NOT IN VAIN IN THE LORD. We will be changed in a moment!
Come Lord Jesus!
Maranatha!
"Our Lord is coming and will judge those who have set Him at nought."
In His love.
Teresa Roberts
Masterpiece Fitness
276-237-6680
Participated in Cloudland Canyon Half Marathon this weekend in Rising Fawn, GA. Absolutely loved the challenge even in the pouring rain. Saw some beautiful sights running in and out of the canyon. Even took a quick dip at the waterfall! Was wet anyway.
