Daily Devotional

-December 7, 2020- Pearl Harbor Day

Good morning, happy Monday,

-Jesus Is The Resurrection And The Life, The Christ, The Son of God-

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is come into the world.’”

During this Corona pandemic so many have died both in the United States and throughout the world. Just this past week the Coronavirus became the number one cause of death in America. The positive cases are at their highest levels since the pandemic started. The people who have died are real people not just statistics. They are husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and friends. Jesus feels our pain.

Our blessed Lord and Savior was born into this world as the resurrection and the life. He died for our sins and rose for justification. Because He died and rose again, we will rise also. In our passage today, Jesus is speaking to Martha after the death of her brother Lazarus. Our Lord is speaking of both physical and spiritual death. Both are because of sin. Only the believer in Jesus Christ has the assurance that he will never die spiritually, and if the Rapture comes first, he may never die physically either.

Jesus knew He would raise Lazarus from death and this would bring great joy to Martha and her sister and God would be glorified. The greater joy for believers is that though we die, we will rise to be with Christ forever. Lazarus would die again physically but would be with the Lord in heaven forever. There is a huge difference when a believer dies or when an unbeliever dies. We have hope and though we sorrow it is not like the sorrow of unbelievers.

We praise God there is a vaccine on the way. Only the Lord can comfort us in our time of loss. These words of Jesus have been a source of comfort to countless believers down through the centuries, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” God who gives life is the only one who can take it. Only He knows the time of our death and of the Rapture. He is our hope and our lives are in His hands.

We thank God that when Jesus died for us and rose again, He conquered sin and death. He removed the sting of death which is sin. The fear of death is gone. We have a bright eternity to look forward to. Jabe Nicholson said, “Those who are born once, will die twice; but those who are born twice, will die at most only once.” We who are saved are born twice, once physically and once spiritually in the new birth. We look forward to the Rapture to all go to heaven at Christ’s coming in the air. If we do die first, we will be absent from the body and present with the Lord. Either way we win. Death is not an end but a beginning. Death no longer has power over us. Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Have a blessed day in Jesus who conquered sin and death, and lives forever. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean