Tag: Eternal Life

Devotionals

Is there Life after Death?

Loring Schultz

“But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead—haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is the God of the living, not the dead.” Matthew 22:31-32 NLT

Photo FreeBibleimages.org

The question, ‘Is there life after death?’ has been debated over millenniums. Almost every religion known to man has a belief of some form of an afterlife, and in as many different forms as there are the number of religions. Greek Philosophers and ancient Greek mythology had their theories as the ancient Egyptian religions had theirs. Different factions within Judaism and Christianity have several views on life after death. Some are embedded in tradition and some in scripture as interpreted by Jewish and Christian leaders over the centuries to our current day. But to ensure we are on solid ground, we look to the truth of God’s Word, the Holy Scriptures, and Jesus’ interpretation of life after death.

Jesus had an on-going back and forth with the religious rulers of His day who were looking to discredit Him in any way they could. After shutting down the Pharisees and the Herodians, the Sadducees where next to take a crack at Jesus. They came to Jesus with a question about the resurrection of the dead. A foot note needs to be placed here; the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, and the absurdity of their question proves their intent to entrap Jesus. They wanted to know; a woman married to more than one man during her lifetime whose wife would she be in the resurrection.

Jesus answered their question by not only confirming there is a resurrection, but also those waiting for the bodily resurrection are indeed very much alive. Jesus cited from the Torah, as the Sadducees only recognized Moses’ authority in the first five books of the Bible. Jesus quoted a direct statement from God Himself when Moses faced Him, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (Ex. 3:6 NLT) Jesus then confirmed Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as living. “So he is the God of the living, not the dead.” (Mt. 22:32b NLT)

Is there life after death? Yes-Jesus said God is the God of the living: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We are all eternal beings and will be very much alive after our earthly bodies die. Where will you be living in eternity? Will you be with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the rest of all who have trusted Jesus as savior. You can be sure you will be- “For Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” (Ro. 10:13 NLT)

Read: Matthew 22:23-33 NLT – Discussion about Resurrection – That – Bible Gateway

Devotionals

My Comfortable Clothes Are Good Enough

Loring Schultz

“But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply.” Matthew 22:11-12 NLT

Photo by LOGAN WEAVER | @LGNWVR

            Most of us possess clothes while wearing them are very comfortable. Sometimes we regret even the need to remove them for washing, but it must be done. Physical clothing may not be the only clothing that is comfortable, our garments of intellect, financial success, good looks, and popularity never want to be removed even for something better. Jesus gave us parable to show us the terrible consequences of holding on to our comfortable clothes in place of what He has to offer, eternal life with Him.

            The parable is ‘The Parable of the Great Feast,’ or the ‘Wedding Feast.’ A king prepared a wedding feast for his son. After all the preparations were made, he sent out his servants to gather all those who were invited, but they all refused to come. The king was very angry and sent his servants out again to invite others, in fact they were to invite everyone they saw. “So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.” (Mt. 22:10 NLT) Jesus told this parable in reference to the Jewish religious rulers who had rejected Him as the Messiah. The king in the parable represents God the Father, the son is Jesus the Messiah, and those invited were the Jewish people of the nation Israel.

            God further extended His invitation of salvation to all people for John 1:11 says, “He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.” (NLT) Every person of all ethnicities, Jews included, male and female, black and white are invited to the wedding feast. But there is one caveat, you must remove your comfortable clothes and put on the wedding clothes the Lord has provided for you.

            In the parable, those invited the second time were given wedding clothes (God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ His Son), but some refused it as the previous invited guests had done. They were too comfortable in the clothes they were wearing and felt no need to change. In their minds the clothes they had on were good enough and they were good enough to attend the wedding feast. But the king gave the harsh reality of rejecting His Son, Jesus Christ, “Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Mt. 22:13 NLT) It’s time to throw away your old comfortable clothes, they are not good enough.

Read: Matthew 22:1-14 NLT – Parable of the Great Feast – Jesus also – Bible Gateway

Devotionals

Missing the last piece of the puzzle

Loring Schultz

“Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.” Matthew 19:21-22 NASB

A family of four are building a puzzle together at home during a game night.

            Working on a jigsaw puzzle on your own or with friends and family is an enjoyable and relaxing way of putting away the cares of the world for a period of time. All the pieces eventually fit together completing the work and revealing the final product. The rewards are not only the finished product, but what was accomplished along the way. How many times have you got near the end of working your puzzle and realized you do not have all the pieces to complete it, in fact you’re missing only one piece. The last piece making it complete.

            Our lives are like a giant jigsaw puzzle with the pieces falling into place throughout the years. For many of us there is a sense of urgency to feel complete in our lives. Despite what successes we may have there is this feeling that there is a piece missing making us incomplete. This feeling is two-fold, first of all we are created in the image of God, and whether we admit it or not, there is a longing to be united with our creator, and second we are created as spiritual beings with an eternal soul, meaning after this life is over we live on, and how can we know where that will be. For our lives to be complete in this life and the next, we need the missing last piece of the puzzle.

            The gospel of Matthew records the story of a rich young ruler who asks Jesus what good thing he can do to obtain eternal life. He was looking for the missing piece. Having kept all the commandments so he thought, there must be something missing, he felt incomplete. Jesus wastes no time in answering him, telling him to sell all that he has, give the proceeds to the poor, and then follow Him. The young ruler was devastated by Jesus’s answer. His yearning to find the missing piece to his feeling of emptiness was put aside in place of his present day wealth.

            Jesus’s instructions are clear, both to the rich young ruler and to us today. The thought is, there must be something else we can do to please the Lord and earn our Salvation. We are good people. We obey most of the ten commandants, and are kind to our neighbors, but we still feel incomplete. What is the missing last piece of the puzzle? It is Christ alone, accepting Him as our Savior and loving Him more than all our earthly possessions. Have you found your missing last piece of the puzzle? Read the story of The Rich Young Ruler: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+19%3A16-22&version=NASB1995

Devotionals

Going from last to first

Loring Schultz

“So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.” Matthew 20:16 NLT

            Today is Thursday September 7,2023. This date has been marked on the calendar of many football fans since last year’s Super Bowl. It is the start of the NFL season with renewed hope for discouraged fans of low performance teams and continued enthusiasm for the highly successful ones. Week 1 starts with every team equal in the standings. With no games played, every team is in first place and you can say every team is also in last place. But as the season unfolds there will be separation and the cream will rise to the top.

            A major topic in sports talk radio podcasts leading up to opening weekend is which teams, if any, will rise from last place to first place this coming season. There were only two that caught my ear as being possible contenders, one being the New York Jets with the arrival of future Hall of Famer Aaron Rogers, and the other the Atlanta Falcons in a division with not much competition. Going from last to first in the NFL is a major accomplishment through the hard work of physical training, dedication, coaching, discipline, patience, and focusing on one game at a time. Not many have done it, but it has been done.

            Jesus had a few things to say about those who are last and those who are first. He, of course, was not referring any sporting event but to service in the work of the Lord. Jesus used the Parable of the Vineland Workers to illustrate that faithfulness in serving Him will be rewarded. There were the first in line workers who agreed to work for the landowner for a day at a specific rate of pay. Others were hired by the landowner throughout the day right up to 5 PM, but for no specific rate of pay. As the wages were paid out, those who were hired first were upset that those who worked only part of the day received the same amount of pay. Jesus’s point was those who agreed to work for the said amount received what was due, and those who received the same payment were recipients of the landowners reward to them for their faithfulness.

            All who have accepted Christ as Savior, either as a young child, a teenager, young adult, middle age, or senior citizen will be rewarded eternal life. God rewards faithfulness in service to Him according to the ability and the time each one has to serve Him. Some have more opportunity to serve the Lord than others, but all will receive the full day’s pay of eternal life.

            Going from last to first in a NFL season will get you a reward, going from first to last will get you fired. In the Kingdom of God the reward is the same for all who receive Christ as Savior for Salvation, eternal life. “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”    Read the Parable of the Vineyard Workers: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+20%3A1-16&version=NLT