SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/20/2023 7:51 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 “Intro to The God of the Living”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 22:23-33
Message of the verses: “23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Him and questioned Him, 24 saying, "Teacher, Moses said, ‘IF A MAN DIES, HAVING NO CHILDREN, HIS BROTHER AS NEXT OF KIN SHALL MARRY HIS WIFE, AND RAISE UP AN OFFSPRING TO HIS BROTHER.’ 25 "Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 “And last of all, the woman died. 28 “In the resurrection therefore whose wife of the seven shall she be? For they all had her." 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures, or the power of God. 30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 "But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." 33 And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.”
I know that most every Christian has heard about the Sadducees, and the fact that they do not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and that is why they are sad, you see. Had to do that as we begin this rather short section in Matthew’s gospel, hope you don’t mind. I talk to people about the Lord and their need for salvation and one of the answers that I get a lot is “I believe there is some kind of god, someone who is running the universe. I think that they are trying to tell me that there ok because they believe that, but in reality they are not. One of the things that I have a hard time figuring out is the Sadducees as they were a part of the Jewish religious system that was in place during the time of Jesus on the earth. How can you believe in God and not believe in the resurrection is a question that Paul asked, and I ask that question too. I remember an old song entitled “Is that all there is” and the song was about life here on planet earth. The song writer says “Is that all there is my friend, then bring out the booze and have a ball, if that’s all there is. A person who is a true born-again believer in Jesus Christ has to believe in the resurrection for after all Jesus was resurrected the third day after being crucified as is seen in all four of the gospels and the first chapter of Acts.
MacArthur begins his comments on this subject by writing “Mankind in general has always anticipated an afterlife of some sort. The idea is built into the heart of man that there must be a continuation of existence when the physical life is over. James Dwight Dana, a nineteenth-century professor at Yale University said that he could not believe that God would create man and then desert him at the grave. In that statement, Professor Dana summarized the hope that, to one degree or another, has captured virtually every heart in every culture in every time.
“The ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead is filled with ideas and stories about life after death. In the tomb of the great pharaoh Cheops, who died some 5,000 years ago, archaeologists discovered a solar boat intended for him to use in sailing through the heavens during the next life. Ancient Greeks often placed a coin in the mouth of a corpse to pay his fare across the mystic river of death into the land of immortal life. Some American Indians buried a pony and bow and arrows with a dead warrior in order that they he could ride and hunt in the happy hunting grounds. Norsemen buried a dead hero’s horse with him so he could ride proudly in the next life. Eskimos of Greenland who died in childhood were customarily buried with a dog to help guide them through the cold wasteland of death.”
I remember a story about a Christian lady who died and ask her family to put a spoon in her hand for she knew that desert would be better in heaven and that was what she was looking forward too.
Lord willing we will continue to look at this introduction in our next SD.
8/20/2023 8:19 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment