What happens when you die as a follower of Jesus Christ? 2 Corinthians 5:1 reminds us that “if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Corinthians 5:8 tells us that, “absent from the body [is to] be present with the Lord.” Scripture refers to heaven more than five hundred times, the Book of revelation alone mentions heaven about fifty times. The Bible is very clear that heaven is an actual place, not a state of spiritual consciousness. We are reminded that it is a place, because some have gone there in glorified bodies, such as Enoch in Genesis 5:24, Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11, and the Lord Jesus Christ in Acts 1:9. As we have already been reminded in 2 Corinthians 5:8 while heaven is far beyond the created world in another dimension, when believers die, they will be there immediately (cf. also Luke 23:43). We also are reminded in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 that a day will come when the Savior, Jesus Christ, will come back for His Bride, and all those who are a part of that Bride … READ MORE

Coming out of Resurrection Day, it is appropriate for me to be thinking of the church and it’s doctrinal importance today. God said in Genesis 2 regarding man, “It is not good for man to be alone,” and as a result He created woman for man, in doing so He created family as the community of hope and help for mankind. Because of the fall, there needed to be a redeemed community for man to live in; and in Genesis 12 God called Abraham to be the start of that redemptive community. Israel became that community for the world. Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 16, that “He would build His Church” and then began teaching them about His death, burial and resurrection. In John 14-16 He reminds the disciples again of His need to go away so that the Spirit of God could come, This happened in Acts 2, and today the church is the redemptive community that God has established so that we do not have to live life alone. It is designed to be the hope and help that families need in order to live in a sin cursed world. It is more than a club or … READ MORE

He is Risen! What a special day to be reminded of the hope and help for our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. Remember that before the hope and help of the resurrection came the dark and gloomy days of the crucifixion. Yet without the crucifixion there would be no hope and help to offer other. Hebrews 12:2 reminds us, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”… READ MORE