As one who has experienced Christmas as a child, parent and now the grandfather of sixteen, my Christmas experiences have been morphing as I have grown older and it has become easy to become jaded by the worldly nature of Christmas celebrations.

It is the time of the year that the focus is shifted from the day to day activities that are the normal drivers of our thoughts and actions to what we are to give to the people in our lives. Like it or not it is the “season of giving” and you can be sure there are many who want you to give.

Charitable giving goes up significantly during the “season of giving.” In the last three months of the year a total of 34 percent of charitable giving occurs and, as stated by Steve MacLaughlin the director of product management for Blackbaud, “The number one reason people give to charity is that they're asked,” and ask they will.

With the  “season of giving” arrives the season of getters. They are stationed at the entrance of every store. They are at your workplace. They arrive in snail-mail and email and even come knocking on your door seeking a gift from you during the “season of giving”.

The Christmas season is filled with giving. Much of the giving is compulsory, some out of obligation and very little by personal desire. Many people are burdened by the giving season; spending money they do not have and running up credit cards to the max. Going to or hosting gatherings for the exchange of gifts places stress on time management. Shopping, wrapping gifts and the season's overwhelming food preparations are just a few of the added pressures of the season.

The giving season for some becomes the taking season. Some have expectations of receiving their “heart’s desire” at the expense of others. Children who demand the latest technology, toys and even automobiles. The “getters” of the season make Christmas lists and post them on social media;leaving their lists in places you must look and even handing them to you; often-times giving you the feeling of being extorted. The “getters” of Christmas are always seeking to take advantage of the season of giving.

Let me redirect your thoughts from the “getters” and the “givers” of the “season of giving” and help take the “jade” off your thoughts for the next few days before the “season of giving” passes.  Refocus your thoughts on what was the catalyst of the “season of giving”. The catalyst for the “season of giving” was who God is and what God has done for you.  

God’s character is revealed by His desire to give tangible gifts to His creation but the purpose of His divine nature is revealed by the intangible gifts that He freely gifts to the people who acknowledge and delight in His generosity of spiritual revelation of Himself. There is no greater demonstration that God imposes, no limit to His divine nature to disinvest Himself of His personal possessions than when He endorsed the selfless act of Jesus when He, “took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil 2:8)

Regardless of if you or how you acknowledge Christmas, this is the time we can change, not others, but our own self because of the birth of Christ. Not because He was born on Christmas day but because He was not… because He, Jesus, was born and became the sacrifice for our atonement and made peace for us with a Holy God who was angry with us, “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Psa 7:11)

This “season of giving” do not get bogged down in the weeds of the worldly activities. Remember it was God’s gift that gave us this hope, “look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Luke 21:28)

The Word of God’s purpose in your life is to liberate you from the bondage of sin and death. Bondage in sin is often exchanged for the bondage of religion. Many people leave the power of sin in their lives only to find themselves in the bondage of religion.

One of the greatest gifts we receive in the salvation experience is freedom. Freedom from death, freedom from the judgment of an angry God and freedom from the guilt of past failures. When we are born-again, the word of God states:

“Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things become new.” (2 Co 5:17)

Jesus said when you come to a saving knowledge of who He is, there is a liberty from religion that comes with understanding the truth about Him and His purpose in coming to earth:

”And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

Jesus, concerning His teachings, instructed that they are not to be applied to subordinate people but to liberate people. Jesus’ words to His distractors revealed the true nature of God’s Word when properly taught:

“Jesus, therefore, said to those Jews which had believed him, If ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32)

God’s Word sets people free but the power of religion seeks to enslave people. The theological teachings found in God’s word properly administrated by the Lord’s Church bring joy, freedom and liberty and faith in Jesus. These same theological teachings, when corrupted by religion, produces fear, doubt, and dependence on having a relationship with the religious leaders and church dogma to complete or preserve their release from the power of sin.       

These church groups and leaders are tantamount of the Scribes and Pharisees in the Jewish religion in the time Jesus was proclaiming His message of freedom. Jesus proclaimed these men were, “blind guides, which strain out the gnats and swallow the camel.”  (Mat 23:24) The Pharisees and Scribes were religious teachers who ignored God’s intent for His teachings by exploiting and arguing minor points. In doing so, they were creating exceptions and conditions that would validate their teachings and change the intent of the teachings of God’s Word. They would construct loopholes using ambiguous language producing support for their teachings and thereby creating the importance of their positions in the spiritual lives of people.   

Religious leaders and their dogma in the church use many of the same tactics employed by the Scribes and Pharisees to create dependence on their teaching on the purpose of the church for the power of negotiating peace with an angry God.  

The Apostle Paul’s teachings on the importance of how we approach and teach God’s word reveals the importance of properly used theology. If the religion of the church hijacks and redefines the church’s doctrine; the liberty of grace will be modified into the bondage of the law. The Word of God makes it clear what is the end of these teachings when they mishandle God’s word— the death of grace.

These words should send fear into the hearts of all believers who are a part of a church group that has allowed the religious dogma to hi-jack the doctrine of grace and replaced it with a theology that creates a dependency on the church’s dogma for the hope of salvation. The Apostle Paul, speaking to his work as a minister, said:

“Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” (2 Cor 3:6)

If you have escaped from the power of sin and death only to be enslaved to a religion; reject the religious dogma and find the freedom of God’s grace.

“And I will remember my covenant.” Genesis 9:15

God can and does forget. This testimony about God’s forgiveness is proof that God can choose to forget:

“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” (Isa 43:25)

God has chosen to forget your sins. Not only can God forgive your sins but He can place them in a place that they cannot be rediscovered:

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psa 103:12)

It is this power to forget and place our sin in a place that they cannot ever be disclosed again that gives us confidence that God will “remember” His promises to us. God, looking on His creation, was so disturbed when He, “saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen 6:5)

An event had happened that had polluted the human race:

“And it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them.” (Gen 6:1)

The human race was so corrupted by the co-mingling of the demonic and human DNA that only Noah and his family were found untouched by the depth of darkness that plagued the world.

After the purge of the sin and sinners with corrupted DNA, God made a promise:

“And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.” (Gen 9:15)

God did not forget His promise to His creation and today we still stand in His promise. God’s promises are irrevocable. God has made many promises to His creation and to you. The greatest promise is that of the Saviour.

This promise of the coming Saviour is made through time by the prophets of God. One of the promises of the coming Saviour is:

“For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isa 53:2-5)

Indeed this promise was fulfilled when the Angelic Host proclaimed, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) This child, born into this world, was God in the flesh. The scripture gives clear evidence of this fact, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” (Col 2:9)

God Himself came in human form to deliver you from the wages of sin. The birth of the child would be the one who would be “wounded for our transgressions.” Jesus lived a life without sin and became the payment for your sin debt.

Jesus suffered and died but He rose from His grave; victorious over sin and death. It is this power over death that God has promised you. The Apostle Paul gives us these words from God:

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Co 15:55-57)

Just as the flood purged the corrupt DNA from its creation; Jesus purged the strength of sin and the law. You can live a life free from the power that sin holds over you. You can have God’s promise to release your sin debt if you call on the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sin.

“The cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted.” Psalm 104:16

David, King of Israel, is credited with this statement from God Himself that David was, “a man after his own heart.” (1 Sa 13:14) David, reflecting on the greatness of God, said:

“LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty." (Psa 104:1)

As David looks over God’s creation, he gave Him credit for all he saw but when it came to the cedars of Lebanon he pauses and makes this observation, “he hath planted.” These trees are spoken about 51 times in 48 verses in the Old Testament.

The cedar trees that grew in Lebanon were the most sought-after lumber in the world. As David reviewed the majesty of God, he observed the fact that God had planted them and not men. The source for these great trees was not at the hand of humanity but of God.

Fields were planted and harvested by the hands of men but these trees were not planted by men. God Himself had provided this treasure to David and His Kingdom. This observation about the cedars of Lebanon also holds true for the birth of the born-again.

No man can lay hold of the power to overcome sin without the power of God. We are born under the curse of sin and are destined to die. The following excerpts from the 5th chapter of Romans make this abundantly clear: 

"…Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation…For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners… sin hath reigned unto death.” (Rom 5:12-21)

For you to find relief from your sin and also peace with God is only enabled by the power of God to create, not just the cedars of Lebanon, but a new and right spirit in you. The same king who saw God’s hand in the creation of the tree also saw God’s power of His spirit and heart.

Exposed in his sin with Bathsheba and her husband Uriah, this same king, who was given the credit as one after God’s heart, repented and cried out for the creative nature of God to:

“Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psa 51:9-10)

Have your “wages of sin” become evident to you? Has the darkness of the shadow of death fallen on the threshold of your thoughts? If so, you have experienced the great mercy of God. God, Himself has exposed the nature of sin to you and also will show you the power to have His creative nature to, “Create in (you) a clean heart and renew a right spirit within (you).” The revelation of the wages of sin also comes with this promise from God:

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom 6:23)

Do you have the “gift” or are you still struggling under the sentence of death? Today, if you will call out to God for His forgiveness of your sin and repent of your unbelief, you can be like the cedars of Lebanon and be planted by God’s power into His Kingdom.

The scripture gives the following advice for you:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom 10:9-10)

Call out to Jesus today and know the power of God to create a new heart and a new spirit in you.

Do you sometimes feel all alone? If so, consider yourself normal. Moses, the spiritual and political leader of the soon-to-form nation, was in exile from the only home he ever knew. Not only his home but his family, friends and community.

It seems a lot of people focus on their works for God. Many church groups enslave people to a work-based dogma or theology that requires people to submit to biblical teachings that have been “weaponized” by these church groups. The motive of these church groups, that present a work-based relationship for salvation theology, is to establish means and method for salvation only they can provide.

The reason these church groups establish a work for salvation theology is to elevate the need for a “middleman” relationship with them to provide you with your “works” that will allow you to find peace with God. The message they present is simple – God is angry at you and has a judgment reserved for you at your death and if you are seeking to have peace with an angry God you need them to bridge the gap.

This is like a painting by Picasso; all the parts are there only in the wrong places. Many seekers of God are hindered in their attempts in finding a relationship with God by the religious teachings of many church groups. Baptism of the born-again is a biblical teaching that has been twisted into a requirement if you are to be saved from your sin. Church membership has been elevated to be necessary to gain entrance into God’s presence as well.

The work's of humanity are the reason why we need a Saviour.

Why would anyone teach that the same creature who is earned by sin and sentenced to death could do any action that would undo the curse of sin? Jesus is the “strait gate”. Not your church group.

The Bible is clear on the teaching of the work of the Saviour versus the works of humanity:

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:8-10)

Religious works fall short of the gate to Heaven. Religion leads not to the “strait gate” but to the broad way of destruction. When Jesus said, “reasonable center ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Mat 7:13-14), He was not defining a religious theology but was referring to the gospel of Jesus that would be preached to the world.

Religion makes us proudful, “lest any man should boast.” You did not work your way to salvation. God graced you into His Kingdom. Whenever we take credit for God’s grace we become self-righteous and proudful. Whenever we give God the glory for our salvation, we become thankful and obedient.

Religious works make us someone else’s workmanship. The born-again believer gives God the glory and credit for the hope they have of a home in heaven. The religious give credit for their spiritual condition to a theology, church group or pastor.

Only when we are born again by God’s grace can we produce works that God acknowledges and blesses. All other labor is in vain.

Are you working for God for the hope of your salvation? When will you do enough to gain God’s favor and find joy in your salvation? David, King of Israel, giving testimony of the works of God said only His works can make you whole:

“For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. (Psa 92:4)

Has God made you “glad” or are you living a life in which you are hoping you will have enough works to please an angry God? Today, lay down the tools of religion you are employing to find favor with God and trust in the Gospel of Jesus.

“And I will give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

The people of God had walked away from God’s ways and word and were captive in Babylon. Depressed, oppressed and cast down; all seemed lost. They were alone, outsiders in the land of the lost and godless.

Yes, they deserved the affliction and judgment. The prophet Ezekiel laid out God’s just case against them for their response to His goodness and loving kindness. The prophet compared God’s people to that of a woman declared unclean:

“When the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.” (Eze 36:17)

Israel the “wife” of God was unclean and he withdrew from them and put them out of his house. Sin had broken their bond with God. God is not just a righteous God but He is also a God of mercy and grace:

“The LORD is gracious and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” (Psa 145:8-9)

God, just in His judgment of His people, also said to them:

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Eze 36:26-27)

The people of God had turned their hearts in to “stony hearts.” It is interesting that we can turn our hearts into “stony hearts” but only God can give you a heart of flesh. How does one turn a heart of “flesh” into a “stony heart?” We find the answer to this question with these words:

“Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart, and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” (Heb 3:8-12)

The process of turning your heart of “flesh” into a “stony heart” is given step by step in the verse above:

1.            They “tempted” and “proved” God. Tempted is understood as to scrutinize, essay or prove. People who scrutinize and seek to have God prove His rightful role as the God of creation will turn their hearts stony.

2.            They, having seen the hand of God at work, reject God’s power and authority in their lives.

3.            They reject God’s authority and now have a change of heart of who and what God means to them.

4.            They establish a life of “err” or sin in their “heart” or their spirit.

5.            They now have an “evil heart of unbelief” and “depart” from God’s word and authority.

How is your heart? Is it on the “stony” side of hardness? Do you see your life somewhere on the slippery slide of slipping away from God’s word? If so, I have some good news for you! You can have a new heart with just one prayer.

The scripture makes this truth clear:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 Jn 1:9)

Just as God promised the Children of Israel that He would restore their righteousness:

“I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” God makes this promise to you, “to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn 1:9)

Today you can have your hardening heart softened, your sins forgiven and your righteousness restored if you, in faith, will call out for forgiveness in the name of Jesus.

“Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide.” Genesis 24:63

In the Old Testament, there are three different words that are rendered as meditating. Two of the three words are understood to murmur (in pleasure or anger) or to ponder or imagine. The Hebrew word used for meditating in this verse is used one time and is understood as one who is reflecting deep or serious thought.

Isaac, after a long day’s work, slipped out of his camp into a field as the light of the setting sun was fleeing into the darkness of night. Isaac had a lot to think about. His aging father and his coming future. He was not only becoming the patriarch of his clan but the possessor of the promise God had made with Abraham, his father.

For God’s promise to come to pass Isaac needed two things to happen; one a wife and two, children. Isaac’s first need was soon to be fulfilled. Abraham had sent his trusted servant Eliezer on a mission:

“But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.” (Gen 24:4)

I am sure Isaac spent many evenings having deep, serious thoughts as he reflected on who and when this woman, who would be his wife, would arrive. Isaac did not send Eliezer. Abraham did and now Isaac must “meditate” on the outcome of his life.

We, like Isaac, often find others who have cast our future and we do not have control over the outcome. It may be a job interview or downsizing of a company that someone makes life choices for you that are out of your control.

Broken relationships are seldom a joint decision. Someone walks away and the one who is left behind did not decide to end the relationship but it is ended just the same. Wives and husbands are left trying to not only understand why it happened but must also determine their future alone.

The death of a loved one is never a choice we make. God alone holds the power over life and death and yet we must try to adjust and understand the new direction life has taken us. It is obvious that many important events in your life are created by others, including God, and not yourself. The question we must answer is not what has brought this change in your life but how do you respond and adjust your life in response to this change?

Like Isaac, we need to walk away from the “camp” and find a place we can allow God to address our concerns. You are living in a world where there are very few places that you can go to “meditate” and not be disturbed by life. Isaac went to the field “at the eventide” when the workers would be home in their camp and there he found solitude. 

For you to have a place to seek God’s understanding of what He is working out in your life you must be able to hear Him. Seldom does God put up posters or sends direct messages. He speaks to us with the softness of His spirit.

The Prophet Elijah struggled to understand what his future was after he had slain the prophets of Baal. Elijah had found a place where he could seek God’s answers, “He came thither unto a cave, and lodged there.” It was in the place of solitude that “the word of the LORD came to him.” (1Ki 19:9)

It was in this place and in this time Elijah was not only able to experience God’s presence but to have a great truth revealed to him. Elijah had poured out his heart before God and He answered:

“And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” (1 Ki 19:11-12)

“When Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?” (1Ki 19:13)

It was the “solitude” Elijah had found that allowed the “still small voice” to bring him understanding, comfort and hope.

Are you confused, concerned or even depressed about your life and the events others are making for you? If so, find that place outside your “camp” and “meditate” on God’s purpose in what is taking place in your life. Listen for that “still small voice” and God will speak to you wisdom, comfort and peace.

“Why me!?” This is an often-uttered comment when people find themselves in difficult or broken relationships. The truth of the matter is, we often are the authors or significantly contribute to the problems in our lives and this also holds true in the condition of our relationships with the people in our lives. The words we speak and how they are delivered are often the source of broken relationships.

Solomon said:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Pro 18:21)

When we use certain words, they can bring death or life to a relationship and we “shall eat the fruit” our conversations produce.

Hurtful words and actions, when directed to or coming from people we trust, are difficult to comprehend and affect us in many different ways. David, King of Israel, cried out to God for help because of what was being said by others about him. The information that was being rumored by his enemies was, “When shall he die, and his name perish?” (Psa 41:5)

If the attacks by his enemies were not enough punishment, David told God:

“Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. (Psa 41:9)

David’s spirit was wounded and his heart was broken by the words spoken by a faithful friend.

Are you suffering a broken heart or a wounded spirit because of a relationship in your life? If so what can or should you do? Like King David, our first response should be a conversation with God to find comfort and strength to have victory in this situation.

If you have been wounded, God said:

“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” (Psa 147:3)

God is the great physician who is able to heal the body and the soul when His children call on Him. Calling on God’s help to understand His plan for what has happened in your life will allow your wounded heart to start on the journey of being healed.

When relationships are damaged, repairing the damage is not often the first response. Rather, we attack the ones who have wounded us or defend ourselves when we have wounded others with our words and actions.

When we are wounded or have wounded others, we must remember who the real enemy is. Satan is the enemy of God’s people and is the source of every attack regardless of the source it comes from. The struggle is real and so is our enemy Satan.

We recognize, as followers of Jesus, we are engaged in a spiritual warfare that is often waged in the physical world and Satan will use our words and words of others to overthrow the children of God. Satan is described by the word of God as a “…roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour,” and reminds God’s people to, “Be sober, be vigilant” (1 Pe 5:8)

When you are in a broken relationship, remember who the enemy is and wage the battle against him and not the people God has placed in your life. If you have offended, don’t eat the fruit of your words. Find a way to rebuild what you have broken. If you consider yourself as the wounded remember the words spoken by Jesus:

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Mat 6:14-15)

One last word of encouragement from the Word of God:

“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” (Rom 12:18)

You often hold the power to be at peace with the people God has placed in your life.

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The hope of the resurrection is not a new concept that begins with Christianity but is as old as the sentence of death that came at the first sin and sinners in the Garden. The scripture states:

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” (1 Pe 1:18-20)

The Apostle Paul declares, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” (1 Co 15:20) and now expands his teaching on the resurrection with his words to the believers in Rome, “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” (Rom 8:22-23)

The firstfruit offering was established as a remembrance of Israel’s slavery in Egypt and to remember how God delivered them from slavery. In this offering there also was a remembrance of God’s promise of “a land that floweth with milk and honey” being fulfilled.  

The Apostle Paul used this Jewish holy day as a springboard to teach about the resurrection of the dead. The hope of the resurrection was a hope of the people of God from the sting of sin and death when he said:

"And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” (Rom 8:23)

The Apostle Paul declares, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept,” (1 Co 15:20) and now expands his teaching on the resurrection with his words to the believers in Rome, “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body,” (Rom 8:22-23) he was reaffirming the truth of the resurrection as embedded in the Old Testament.

The firstfruit offering was established as a remembrance of Israel’s slavery in Egypt and to remember the how God delivered them from slavery. In this offering also was a remembrance of God’s promise of “a land that floweth with milk and honey” being fulfilled.  

The book of Job is believed to be the earliest writing in the Bible that makes this clear. Job believed in the salvation that would be had in Jesus and his resurrection from the dead with these words:

“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” (Job 19:25)

David, King of Israel, believed in the resurrection of the dead when he spoke these words about his child who died as a result of his sinful relationship with Bathsheba. He said “But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” (2 Sa 12:23)

Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, belief in the resurrection is made clear in their conversation with Jesus about their brother's death. Martha said:

“I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.” (John 11:22-23), “Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:24)

Jesus was the “first fruit” of the resurrection and at His death, the word of God reveals, “the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” (Mat 27:52-53)

You have hope. Not just in this life but for all eternity. Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:1-3)

God loves you and you have His promise to raise you from the dead to be with Him forever!