I Know That My Redeemer Lives

# 40 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:19b,20 - “which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, 20 of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Tim 1:19b,20) For the past couple of days we have been emphasizing the importance of believing in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. If He didn't rise from the dead, we are still in our sins because He would be a false Messiah, an imposter! But He did rise! His body was never found and he appeared to many as living proof! The Apostle Paul writes in 1Co 15:3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. Again we see the importance of this teaching as Paul uses the phrase “I delivered to you first of all.” (it was of primary importance!) He didn't stop his message with the fact that Jesus died for our sins, he went on with the bodily resurrection of Jesus. No sharing of the gospel is complete without the inclusion of this historical fact! It's why we restate it in both the Nicene and Apostle's Creed. (In my opinion, these creeds need to be dusted off and brought back to our worship services! The very reason we meet on Sunday's for worship is tied to the resurrection! It is the Lord's Day! When I was serving as pastor at Living Word Lutheran, we began each service with this reminder from the Job 19:25, “ For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth;” Then I would say, “He is risen!” And the congregation would reply, “He is risen indeed!” EVERY SUNDAY! We did that as an affirmation of the doctrine of the resurrection week in and week out! I think it's sad that we have relegated virtually all our worship songs concerning the resurrection to one Sunday out of the year. I mean, what would be wrong with singing: “I know that my Redeemer lives, several times during the year! What comfort this sweet sentence gives. He lives, He lives, who once was dead, He lives my ever living head!” That song oozes hope, and we all could use a little more of that!

The Necessity of Witnesses

# 763- Today's Du-votional comes from: Mr 16:10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. As we piece the account of this incident together with the account in the Gospel of John, it went something like this: (1) Mary Magdalene and the other women come to the tomb and discover that the Body of Jesus is missing. (2) Mary Magdalene finds Peter and John and they run to the tomb and make the same discovery. They don't know what to make of it and return to their homes. (3) Mary lingers at the tomb and Jesus appears to her. (4)She runs back to where His followers had gathered. (5) They likely are aware now that the body is missing and this just adds to their grief and she finds them all in tears. (6) Then Mary bursts in and tells them the Good News! Jesus is not dead! He is alive! She has seen Him with her own eyes! Touched Him with her hands! And their response?????? “Yea right Mary.” They did not believe her! Why not? Did they perhaps think she was having some kind of an hysterical relapse back to her pre-deliverance days? It wouldn't surprise me. Emotions were running high and human nature being what it is....... well, just sayin' But let's not be too hard on them, for the Bible explicitly states that a matter must be affirmed by at least two witnesses. This is a very important biblical principle which unfortunately often gets forgotten, especially when we allow our emotions to be the lead dog. If God wants something established, He will provide witnesses. In the case of the resurrection of Jesus God produced quite a few. 1Co 15:4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.