In the Resurrection
Saturday’s Verse:
From 1 Corinthians 6:14 ESV
“And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.”
Yesterday, I was driving on Chestnut Ridge Road in Woodcliff Lake and came to a red light near Tice’s Corner. Across the street was the Whole Foods supermarket next door to the Sunrise assisted living community. While waiting for the light to turn green, I had a memory of a news story from the 1990s. It’s not a long story - a senior citizen went to the supermarket, parked his car, and while still behind the wheel of his shut-off car, had a heart attack and died. Sad. But the story was that all day, people walked past the man in his car and never noticed that he had died. In fact, the next morning, when the manager came to work before opening the store, he was the first person to notice that the man was dead.
Why would I remember this story from so long ago, I asked myself. For the rest of the day, this memory was at the front of my mind. It all got me thinking about what will happen when Jesus returns from heaven. As we Christians believe, the trumpets will sound and Jesus will come down from heaven in the same way He left this earth in His resurrected body. This will signal the end of this age and the start of eternal life. Judgment Day will begin, and the people of the Almighty will rise from the dead and will be escorted into the joys of eternal life, and those who rejected God will be kicked out. No believer will ever be alone again. Not only will our aches and pains and sicknesses that plagued this life be part of our new reality, for in the age of the resurrection, we will live in happiness and joy with all the people of God on an earth that will never pass away.
We’ll never suffer heart attacks in a supermarket parking lot and be left alone. Instead, we’ll all live under the glory of our God who created us, sustained us, and graciously loved us from before we were born.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Loving Father, thank You for creating all of us in Your image, where we can live in this life as Your ambassadors of faith and tell the story of Jesus’ life and resurrection. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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